Final Justice
by charli911
Summary: Having struck out in his continued search for Ella Gaines, Vin takes a break to visit some Indian friends and discover they have an unexpected prisoner. Buck and Vin have completely different ideas about justice served, while Chris agonizes and grieves his lost family. Rated M for scenes of torture.
1. Chapter 1

**_FINAL JUSTICE: The Sentencing of Ella Gaines_**

By Charli911 & Larabeelady

Completed 9/23/03

Disclaimer: Mag 7 and the boys belong to other people. I borrow them for short times and then give then back for other people to borrow. I try not to hurt them too badly and always heal them completely before I give them back. The boys (sigh) belong to Trilogy Entertainment and the Mirisch Group

AN: Consider this my sequel to the episode: Obsession. Many spoilers for that episode and Nemesis.

Kanahe and the rest of the Indian tribe are my own, but anyone is welcome to use them if they'd like. The Indian's names were made up by the authors and have no meaning as far as we know in the Indian culture or Language. We did not research any Indian language for the names.

Previously archived on Lady Angel's

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**_Chapter 1_**

Vin Tanner was tired. He'd been on the trail for three weeks, following what had been a promising lead to a killer. A month earlier, Ella Gaines had escaped the grasp of the seven peacekeepers of Four Corners. She had spun a tale, making the men feel sorry for her, thinking she was in danger.

It was all a ploy to get Chris Larabee in her clutches and had nearly cost them all their lives. After a shoot-out at her ranch between the seven men and Ella's hired guns, she had managed to ride away, leaving a wounded and bleeding Larabee on the ground in her wake. Tanner and Buck Wilmington had tracked her from the ranch, but lost her within a week. Just days after returning to Four Corners, they received a telegram that a woman fitting Ella's description had been spotted near the tiny town of Russell.

Vin had convinced Larabee that he should follow up on this lead by himself. Chris was still recovering from his injuries and neither man wanted to leave the town short-handed of lawmen for an indefinite period of time. They were already down one man with Chris out of the action. So Larabee agreed that he should go alone, with Vin's assurance that he would be careful and check in often by telegraph.

Vin's promise to notify Chris immediately if she was found had been the only thing keeping a still recovering Chris from riding with him. It was hoped that by the time Vin was able to confirm or deny that the woman was Ella, Chris would be fully recovered from his wound and able to travel.

But the lead had proved false. Vin hadn't been able to verify that the woman seen had been Ella. And any traces of that woman had vanished. He stayed in the area an extra week, just to be sure. But it was time to head back. He'd decided to go back by a different route, which would bring him close to a small Indian village he was familiar with.

He planned to stay a couple of days to refresh his spirit from the long days of frustration and disappointment. He was still angry at himself for missing Ella with his hasty shot just before she rode away from the gunfight. Some sharpshooter, he chastised himself. She'd been too far for the bullet from his shortened barrel to reach her.

And he'd been too concerned with his friend writhing on the ground in pain to worry about following her at the time. He had hoped to remedy that mistake with this trip, but had been frustrated every step of the way.

He rode over a ridge and reined in his horse. A smile crept over his face as he looked down on the small gathering of tipis and saw the people moving around. He waited until someone noticed him. Less than a minute later, a young brave looked his way. Tanner saw him turn and call out to someone behind him.

Vin's smile grew as he recognized the man who approached the brave. It appeared that Kanahe was still the Chief of this little band. The older man looked up, watching. Vin removed his hat. Moments later, Kanahe grinned and started talking animatedly to several others who had gathered around him as he walked to the edge of the village.

That's what Vin had been waiting for. It was his invitation to enter the village. Kanahe had recognized him and was welcoming him.

Carefully, he guided his mount down the hill, pulling up a few feet from the Chief. He dismounted and handed the reins of his horse to a young Indian boy who had run over at the Chief's instruction. The boy led the black horse to the riverbank where he would allow him to drink before removing his saddle and leading him to graze among the tribe's horses.

"Kanahe, thank you for welcoming me into your village," Vin said in the Chief's language.

"Silent One will always be welcomed by my people," the Chief replied. The two men smiled as they remembered how Vin had received his name when their village's medicine woman remarked that he was as silent as a shadow when he moved. She had been surprised that a white man could be so quiet. She'd declared that he must be part Indian.

"Come, eat with us," Kanahe invited.

They walked to the center of the village, the braves who had joined the Kanahe relaxing once they realized that the white man was a friend of their Chief. As they walked, Vin glanced around, recognizing a few of the others who were slowly moving back into the open, after hiding when the word first went up that a white man was on the ridge.

Many of the younger children shied away from him, the first white man they'd ever seen. Most of the others had seen whites before, many having no use for them. But this man was known to the older members of the tribe and had been welcomed by their leader as a friend. Therefore they would welcome him as well.

A high-pitched squeal from his left caused Vin to turn just as an older woman rushed up and hugged him. She spoke rapidly in her language, too rapidly for Vin to keep up. It had been many years since he spoken it.

Kanahe laughed as his wife fussed over the young man. Vin Tanner had saved the life of three of the tribe's children several years earlier. His act had given him status as a member of the tribe and Kanahe's wife, Susone, had taken over the role of mother for the already-grown Vin Tanner. She always welcomed him enthusiastically during his infrequent visits.

Vin's discomfort around women was obvious to the Chief and had always been a source of amusement. It didn't matter the age, women seemed to make him blush when they fussed over him. But just because he disliked like the attention, didn't mean he turned away from it. It wasn't so much that he was shy; it was more just a desire not to be the center of attention.

And it didn't keep him from spending time with the young Indian women who were willing. In fact, the young man never lacked for attention when he came to visit. More than one had tried to persuade the young man to stay with the tribe. But he always moved on.

Another scream brought Vin's attention away from the old woman. This scream was not one of pleasure, but pain. No one else in the village seemed in the least affected by the screams. Vin turned to the Chief.

"Someone's hurtin'," he commented.

"Yes. Do not worry. It will be over soon."

"Somebody hurt?"

"In a way, yes," the Chief replied cryptically. Vin frowned, then turned to move in the direction of the screams, which Vin could tell came from a female. Kanahe followed him, interested in the man's reaction to what he would see.

As Vin rounded a group of large trees another scream echoed. What he saw froze his forward motion. A woman was hanging between two trees, her arms stretched out, wrists tied with ropes, one attached to each tree. A white woman.

She was facing away from Vin, but her clothing and long brown curly hair was evidence of her color. The long locks were matted and ratty, her clothing torn and dirty. The rear of her dress was ripped open from neck to waist, baring the light skin underneath, which was marred with bloody slash marks,

While Vin watched, an Indian woman whom he recognized picked up a long thin switch and swung it against the exposed skin. Tanner flinched along with the woman, knowing how painful it was to be marked that way. He'd suffered that particular treatment in the past, although not by Indian hands.

"What did she do?" Vin asked, knowing that the punishment would not be unwarranted.

"She killed Little Dove's son."

Vin turned a shocked face toward Kanahe.

"Not Mondoc. Her younger son. You did not know him. He was born after you left." Kanahe did not say the young boy's name. This tribe, as many, did not speak the names of their dead, afraid it would call them back from the spirit world.

"How'd it happen?"

"She tried to steal a horse. Her own was lame. Our warriors tried to stop her. The boy had been sitting near the women while they sewed and talked. She rode the horse straight through them. A hoof hit him in the head. We could not save him."

Vin heard the sadness in his voice and saw the pain in his eyes. Any child of the tribe was a child of the Chief and Vin knew the old man would have felt the loss deeply.

"What's a white woman doing so far out?" Vin asked. "It's several hours ride to any white town."

"We do not know," Kanahe replied. "We looked for her people. We did not want her men coming into the village looking for her. But she was alone. We found no other tracks and no signs of other whites."

"Know her name?"

"She will not tell us. She offers us money for our loss," Kanahe spat in disgust.

"Reckon I can talk to her, ask her name, in case she has family? Should let 'em know she's dead."

Kanahe was pleased. Yes, Silent One understood the Indians right for vengeance and would not interfere. Not that Kanahe was surprised.

"I will ask Little Dove," he offered. "She has control of the woman's destiny."

Kanahe approached the grief stricken mother and spoke softly to her. As Vin waited, others from the tribe gathered around, including Little Dove's husband and their surviving son. Neither was ever far away from Little Dove, both needing to be part of the punishment of the white woman who had caused so much pain.

There had been much discussion in the tribe about what to do with the woman. Eventually, the Chief had decided to leave her punishment up to the dead child's parents. Little Dove's husband, Tonti, had wanted to just kill her outright. But Little Dove would not settle for a quick death. Her grief demanded retribution. The others left her to it, checking on her frequently to be sure she rested and ate. They all knew that the white woman would die. It was just a matter of when.

Vin Tanner knew it too. He'd spent enough time with The People to be aware of their customs and laws. This was justice being served as far as he was concerned. He was glad that the woman had been alone. He didn't want some white man's posse coming back and killing the tribe for doling out justice as the tribe deemed fit. "White's man's" justice had killed too many Indians already.

Vin would try to notify any family the woman had, but they would not be given any details of her death. No body would be retrieved, so no questions could be asked about the marks her body bore. She would die either way, and even though he might have to lie, it was a small price to pay for the continued safety of the tribe.

"Little Dove remembers you and knows you understand her grief. She gives her permission for you to speak with the woman," Kanahe told Vin when he joined the tracker again.

Vin nodded and walked toward the Indian woman. He placed a hand on Little Dove's arm as her husband moved to stand beside her.

"Thank you for lettin' me talk ta her. I'm sorry about your boy. May the Great Spirit welcome him."

A sad smile graced the face of Little Dove, then she closed her eyes and turned around, excepting the comfort offered by her husband. Tonti nodded at Vin, then led his wife away to get some rest. Others would keep watch over the captive until she could return.

Vin walked around the white woman, moving in front of her. Her head was down. Dirty, brown hair covered her face. She was panting, trying to get air into her laboring lungs through her sobs. Vin watched her for several minutes before he spoke, allowing her breathing to calm a bit.

"Do ya have any family ya want me to contact?" he quietly asked the battered woman.

Slowly, she raised her head, the hair still partially covering the dirt-crusted face. When she opened her eyes Vin gasped and took an involuntary step back.

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For several moments neither spoke. "Vin? Vin Tanner?" The raspy voice was nothing like the woman he knew.

"Why don't it surprise me that you're the one involved in all this?" he asked, staring disgustedly at the figure before him.

"Oh, thank God!" she exclaimed, not noticing the look on his face. She tugged at the ropes around her wrists. "Cut me loose. We have to get out of here."

"Ella, Ella, Ella," he said, shaking his head. "What the hell ya doing way out here, so far away from feather beds and hired killers."

"Cut me loose! We have to get away from these savages!"

"You're getting what ya deserve. Ya killed Little Dove's child."

"You bastard! You're the reason Chris turned against me!" Her normal lady-like appearance was marred by the dirt and grime of her situation.

Tanner smiled. "I believe this is what Josiah Sanchez would call...now how did he put it that time...oh yeah, 'de-vine intervention'. Looks like the Great Spirit has decided ya should pay for yer crimes."

"Crimes? I've committed no crimes. Now, cut me down. I'll make it worth your while."

"Ya gonna pay me to cut ya loose?" Vin asked.

"Whatever you want. I have more money than you would make in ten lifetimes," she replied eagerly.

"I don't want yer money."

"I can show you pleasures you've never experienced before." She tried to smile, but the sultry gaze she was aiming for looked ludicrous surrounded by the grimy face and matted hair.

He laughed. "You're gonna bed me?" he asked, incredulous. He began laughing harder, which caused her to scowl. "Lady, I wouldn't sleep with ya if ya were the last woman in the territory. I'd never be able to pull out the knife once ya stabbed me in the back."

"I thought you were a friend of Chris Larabee's," she said, seething.

"And I thought you loved Chris Larabee," he stated. "Ain't that what ya told him?"

"I do love him!" she cried. "If you let me go, he'll be forever grateful to you."

"If I let ya go, he'll shoot me."

"Christopher loves me," she insisted. "He'd thank you for saving me."

Vin just shook his head in disbelief. "You're insane. Ya killed his family. He wants ta see ya hang."

"No. No, Christopher would never allow that to happen. He understands I only did what I had to do so that we could be together. They were in the way. That woman and her brat were just confusing him, keeping him from me."

Vin watched her for several moments then reached to his belt and slid his long-bladed knife from its sheath.

Ella smiled. "Yes, that's right. Cut me loose and we can ride away from these savages. I promise you won't regret it." She turned and looked at her left wrist, sure she was about to be released.

She gasped when the blade touched her cheek. She felt the blunt end of the steel slide down her cheek and along her jaw. She slowly turned her face back to the front. Fear clutched at her as the tip of the knife moved to press into the flesh below her chin, pushing her head up so that she was eye-to-eye with Vin Tanner.

Hatred shot from the tracker's eyes and he pressed harder against the knife. She gasped again.

"I should kill ya right now," he hissed. "But Little Dove would hate me for deprivin' her of her justice."

"Who...who is Little Dove?" she stammered, trying not to move, afraid the blade would cut into her throat.

"Little Dove is the mother of the child ya killed," he snarled. "Just rode over him and trampled him under yer horse, like he was a piece of dirt!" He moved closer. She could smell the leather and sweat from his body. He reached up with his other hand and wrapped his fingers through her ragged hair, pulling back her head and exposing her throat. He repositioned the knife so that the blunt side of the blade lay alongside her neck.

He dragged the tip along her skin, across her throat to the other side of her neck. "If it was up ta me, I'd carve ya up and let ya bleed out, real slow," he whispered. "I'd lay ya spread-eagle in the desert, let the sun bake yer skin until it falls off yer bones, watch ya blister up and see yer eyes pop outta yer skull." His voice was low and intense, he knife blade moving along her skin as he continued. "Yer tongue would swell up so big ya wouldn't be able to swallow. Then ya wouldn't be able to breathe."

Although the words were softly spoken, he may as well have shouted them for the impact they had. Her eyes grew wider and her breath more rapid. He could feel her begin to tremble. It brought a smile to his face.

"Ya killed Sarah and Adam! Ya killed the boy in the village! No telling how many more deaths ya been responsible for. Ya deserve t' die and ya will. The tribe will see to it. And I reckon their way will be a lot more painful than a hanging, which is what ya'd get if I took ya back. But either way, ya'd be dead."

He pulled back and returned the knife to his sheath. Looking over her shoulder, he spoke to someone behind her in a language she didn't understand. After a few minutes of conversation he looked back at her.

"Enjoy yer stay in the village, Ella," he said with a smile. "The Chief and I need to talk."

He walked away, her shouting voice following him. "No! You can't leave me here! They'll kill me. Please! I'll give you anything you want. Anything."

He turned back to her. "Can ya bring Little Dove's son back? Can ya make it so Sarah and Adam are still alive? Cuz that's what ya'd have to do to save yer life."

She didn't reply, only began to struggle more fiercely. Vin spoke briefly to one of the braves, who nodded and turned back to the woman. They would keep a close eye on her. If Silent One said she was dangerous and clever, they would be sure that she was secured and couldn't escape.

Vin walked away with Kanahe as she began to yell again, cussing him and pleading for relief.

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Chris Larabee leaned back in his chair outside the jail, balancing on the rear legs. He was feeling much better, the bullet wound in his side almost completely healed. Nathan had cleared him to be able to ride again several days earlier. He'd eagerly ridden out to his shack for a bit, returning to town just that morning.

He smiled as he watched the antics of JD Dunne and Buck Wilmington. It felt good to smile again. After everything he'd learned about Ella he never thought he would ever get over his rage and disbelief. The pain of Sarah and Adam's deaths could still overwhelm him. He still reeled from the discovery of her part in the murders, but tried to keep him mind on happier things. It wasn't easy.

When Ella had first come back into his life, he was ready for a little fun. And after experiencing the few short days at her ranch, he thought he'd even been ready to settle down again.

His guilt at bedding the woman who'd killed his family still caused his gut to clench, as did his callous dismissal of Vin Tanner for telling Chris the truth about Ella. He looked down the dirt street.

Tanner was out there somewhere, still chasing that murderous bitch. He'd vowed to Chris that he wouldn't return until he'd found her. Oh, how Larabee had wanted to ride out with him. But the younger man had been right. Chris just hadn't been well enough to accompany him.

Chris' thoughts were interrupted by a shout. "Mr. Larabee!" He glanced the other way to see Michael Tucker running toward him, waving a piece of paper. The Tucker boy was only ten years old, but he often delivered telegrams for his father, who ran the telegraph office. Michael jumped onto the boardwalk and stopped near Chris.

Michael held a paper out toward the gunfighter. "It's marked urgent," he said.

Chris took the paper and read it over. He smiled and reached into his pocket. He handed Michael a couple of coins. "I need you to send a reply for me."

"Of course, Mr. Larabee," Tucker said, following him inside. Chris pulled out a tablet of paper from the drawer and picked up a pencil. He jotted down some words and handed it to Michael, who ran out the door and raced back to the telegraph office.

Chris stood and walked down the boardwalk to the saloon. He'd seen Buck and JD enter a few minutes ago and figured he'd best let someone know he was leaving town.

He pushed open the batwing doors and headed for the corner table, not surprised to see the rest of the peacekeepers there.

"Morning, boys," he greeted them.

"Morning, Chris," JD said.

"Brother Chris." Josiah nodded a hello.

"How ya feelin' today, Chris?" Nathan asked, as always concerned for his friend's health.

"I'm fine. Just wanted to let y'all know I'll be leaving town for a while."

"Going back to your shack?" Buck asked.

"No, heading to Stacey."

"Stacey? That's three days ride. What's in Stacey?"

"Vin."

The other men didn't respond, but each knew what that meant. When Chris didn't elaborate, Buck stood up.

"He found her," he stated.

"Yes."

"She in jail?" Buck asked Chris.

"He didn't say."

"Alive?"

"I assume."

The other men followed the conversation closely, four heads moving back and forth between the two men.

"But you don't know?"

"Why else would he wire?"

"When are you leaving?" Buck held out his hand.

"An hour." Chris handed the telegram over to Buck, who opened it and read it out loud.

"Found her. Meet soonest. Stacey. Vin." He handed the paper back to Larabee. "I'm going with you."

"No."

"Yes, Chris."

"No, Buck."

"You know how I felt about Sarah and Adam."

"I have to do this alone, Buck."

"Why?"

"I just do."

"Damn it, Chris! I loved them too! I have the right to face her for what she did."

"Buck..."

"No! I am going with you! I don't care what you say. They were my family too. Sarah was like a sister to me. And you know how much I cared for that boy."

"Buck..."

"Don't try to stop me. I want to be there for you, Chris. And I'll just follow you if you..."

"Buck!" Silence swept through the room.

"What?!"

"You made your point."

"Does that mean I can ride with you?"

Chris sighed. "Yes. I'm sorry, Buck. I should have invited you to join me. Sometimes..." He closed his eyes. "Sometimes I forget that I'm not the only one who lost them." He opened his eyes and reached out his hand.

When Buck put his own hand out to shake, Chris grabbed his forearm, a gesture usually reserved for Vin Tanner. They locked eyes, over a decade of friendship reaffirmed in that gaze.

"Let's ride," Chris said. Buck nodded. They turned and walked away. Chris called over his shoulder. "We'll be back when we're done. We'll send word." Then with a swish of the batwing doors, they were gone.

Several long seconds of silence followed. Then Ezra picked up his ever-present deck of cards and began to shuffle.

"Any one for a game?" he asked.

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	2. Chapter 2

**_Chapter 2_**

Three days later, Chris and Buck rode into Stacey at sunset. They guided their horses to the livery and wearily slid from the saddle.

"Let's get a drink and something to eat," Chris said. "If Vin is in town, he's probably in the saloon anyway."

"You think he'd stay in town?"

"Probably not, if he has Ella. But if I know Tanner, he probably camped outside of town with a view of the road in. If he doesn't contact us before dark, we'll get a room and wait."

Buck nodded, rubbed the kinks out of his back. The two men made arrangements for their horses with the livery operator, then trudged down the street. They stepped into the saloon and took a look around. Tanner was not in the room. Chris headed toward a table in the back of the room where they could keep an eye on the door and still have the wall at their backs. They ordered beer and food.

Vin didn't contact them, so they took a room at the boarding house across the street from the saloon. Both men drifted off to sleep fairly quickly, the long ride taking its toll.

Chris heard the soft noise, his hand wrapping around his gun before he was fully awake.

"Just me, Cowboy," the soft voice said.

"You keep doing that and you won't have to worry about hanging," Larabee told his friend. Vin chuckled, keeping his voice quiet, not wanting to wake Wilmington.

Chris sat up, watching the shadow of Vin move away from the wall into the low light of the coming dawn.

"You found her."

"Yep."

"Where is she?"

"Not far. 'Bout a four-hour ride from here."

"You left her alone?"

"Nope. Don't worry. She ain't going nowhere."

The way Vin said that told Chris that something unusual was going on, but he knew better than to press for more right now. You could never tell who might be listening.

"Wake up Buck. We'll get some breakfast and get going," Chris said as he slid out of bed and started to dress.

Vin nodded and walked over to the man sleeping on the other bed.

"Bucklin, wake your ass up!" he called. Wilmington stirred. "C'mon, Buck, we gotta get moving." The sleeping man grunted, turning onto his back. His eyes slid open.

"Vin, one of these days, I'm gonna shoot you," he grumbled.

Tanner chuckled. "Yep, but not today."

"We gotta ride, Buck," Chris said as he pulled on his boots. "We'll grab some breakfast and head out."

Buck rubbed his hand over his face and glanced at both men. "I suppose I have to wait to get any details." Vin just raised an eyebrow. "Forget I asked," Buck said. "I'm not sure I'm awake enough to hear it right now, anyway."

After both men dressed, the trio left the room.

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The trio rode out of Stacey an hour later. Vin refused to give the other two any details while they were in town. A mile out of town, Chris patience finally gave out.

"You gonna tell us now, Tanner?"

Vin glanced over at his friend, then let his eyes slide over to Buck. He sighed.

"She was found wandering around in the desert," he answered, then looked away.

"Found by who?"

"Some friends of mine." Several seconds of silence followed.

"Tanner," Chris snarled.

"Look, the people that found her tried to help her. She turned on them. Someone got killed."

Chris and Buck were stunned. "She killed someone else?" Chris asked.

"Yeah. A little boy. He was only three."

"Oh, God!" Chris cried. "That woman..." He took a deep breath. "She ain't getting away this time. If I have to keep her hog-tied all the way back to Four Corners, she is not getting a chance to escape again."

Buck nodded his head in agreement, but Vin kept quiet. He knew that Ella would never make it back to Four Corners. Hell, she wouldn't ever leave the Indian village.

Four hours later, the trio reined in on the same hill Vin had topped when he'd first arrived a few days earlier. They looked down on the village. Vin had told them that they needed to wait until they were acknowledged before they entered the area. Once again, it was the youngsters who noticed the strangers first. Kanahe looked up at the cries of the children and waved at his friend.

Larabee started his horse forward, only to be stopped by Tanner.

"Chris, before we go down there, you need to know something," Vin said.

"Well, what is it? I want to get down there and make sure Ella knows she's gonna hang for killing my family."

Vin nervously licked his lips. He glanced at Buck, then looked down at the ground. "She won't hang, Chris," he said softly.

When he didn't elaborate, the black-clad gunslinger moved his horse closer to the tracker. "What the hell are you talking about, Tanner? That bitch is going back to face trial."

"No, she won't. They won't let you take her."

"I ain't leaving without her," he snarled. "You are just going to have to make them understand that she has to pay for killing my wife and son." Chris was angry and Vin didn't blame him. But he wasn't the only one to lose a son.

"Chris..."

"No! Dammit, Tanner, I've waited over three years to find out who killed my family. Now that I have the proof, no one is going to stop me from bringing her in. No one," he stated, poking a finger into Vin's chest.

"Chris, you gotta understand..."

"I understand that the bitch that killed my family is down there. She is the reason my wife and son burned to death and she's close enough for me to finally see justice done."

Buck Wilmington was watching the two friends go head-to-head. He didn't know why Vin was trying to keep Chris from bringing her to trial, but he'd been around the former bounty hunter long enough to know there must be a reason.

"Calm down, Chris, let the man talk."

"I don't want to hear him say anything about her not going with us when we leave."

"You gotta understand," Vin pleaded with him. "You aren't the only grieving parent here."

The anger at Tanner died quickly. Chris closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Shaking his head he opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder toward the village. "Sorry, Vin. I know another child is dead. I didn't forget that. But, it's all the more reason to be sure she stands trial."

"She'll pay for what she did, Chris. But it'll be Indian justice."

Chris frowned. "Indian justice? What the hell does that mean?"

"Chris, you know that no white man's jury is gonna care that an Indian child died. And you also know that there's a chance that Ella won't hang for killing your family."

"I'll make sure she hangs."

"You won't be on the jury. You gotta know how hard it is for a jury of men to sentence any woman to hang. 'Specially one as pretty as Ella. She can talk her way outta this. Oh, she'll probably spend some time in jail, but there ain't no guarantee that she'll die."

"She definitely won't hang if we don't at least take her back for trial," Chris snarled.

"Look, you two, why don't we quit arguing about it and just head on down to the village," Buck suggested. "My butt is getting sore and that old Indian down there is startin' to give us funny looks."

Tanner and Larabee turned to look down. Kanahe was still staring up at the trio, no doubt wondering why they hadn't entered his village.

Vin nodded. "Let's go down. You can talk to the Chief and the boy's mother. Maybe then you'll understand better."

"I plan on taking her back, Vin. If that means I have to take her from those Indians, I will."

"Now, Chris, don't be trying to start a fight with those braves down there," Buck said. "There's a lot more of them then there are of us."

"I'll do whatever I have to do to bring my family's killer to justice. And I'll go through anyone who stands in my way," he said, staring at Vin, his message clear.

Vin's face went hard. "Tell me, Larabee, which one of those Indians you gonna kill to find justice for your family?" Tanner asked. "Cuz they ain't gonna let you take her out of there." Vin spurred his horse forward past the other two men and started down the hill.

Chris watched his friend ride away and cursed.

"C'mon, pard, let's get down there and see what's going on. Maybe we can work out a compromise."

Larabee didn't say anything, but followed the big man down the hill into the village.

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Buck and Chris reached the bottom of the hill. The older Indian stood with his hand on Vin's shoulder, speaking quietly to him. Vin nodded and turned around to face the two newcomers. They dismounted and allowed one of the boys to take their horses.

"Welcome," Kanahe said.

"Thank you," Chris replied.

"Kanahe, this is Chris Larabee and Buck Wilmington, my friends," Vin began the introductions. "Chris, Buck, this is Kanahe, the leader of this village. And my friend."

Vin glared at Chris, daring him to dispute the tracker's relationship to the older man.

"It is good, Silent One," Kanahe assured him in English. "We will try to help your friends understand. Come, we will eat." He turned and walked away, fully expecting the others to follow him.

They four men settled around the fire, along with several of the other men. Two of the Indian women moved around them, offering bowls of food and skins of water. Several of the children, curious about the new white men in their camp, gradually crept closer. One brave young boy moved to stand next to Buck, intrigued by the bushy mustache. As the child leaned closer, Buck chewed more slowly, watching from the corner of his eye.

The boy raised a tentative hand and touched the furry creature on the big man's upper lip. Buck twitched, which caused the child to jump back in fright. Kanahe laughed. Wilmington reached up and smoothed the hair down again, watching the boy. He looked at Kanahe and winked, moving his mouth, making the mustached wiggle.

The boy giggled and moved closer. He touched the hair once more with a finger, moving slowly in anticipation of more twitching. Buck nipped at the finger. Again the boy jumped back

This time more of the Indian villagers laughed at his antics. The only one not laughing was Chris Larabee. He looked up from his bowl and saw Vin watching the young boy, a crooked grin on his face. Larabee sighed and turned to watch his old friend entertaining the boy.

He felt a sharp pain, remembering Buck playing with Adam the same way. Looking around, he noticed the other Indian children moving closer, smiles on their faces. One shy little girl, who couldn't have been more than five years old, moved closer and stood next to Chris. Her wide, dark eyes gazed up at the light haired man. She'd never seen anyone with yellow hair before.

She reached up and touched a blond tuft that escaped his black hat. He slowly turned his head to look at her, smiling at the beautiful dark-skinned face, with her curious child-eyes. She smiled back and softly spoke to him. He turned to Tanner for a translation.

"She said you have soft hair, like a...um...like a ...bunny," he mumbled.

Buck almost choked on his food. "Oh, pard..."

"Don't start, Buck," Chris scowled. The girl frowned at the look on his face, looking between the two men. Chris, realizing his mistake, smiled at the girl again. "Sorry, sweetie, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just upset with my friend. I'm glad you like my hair," he said, muttering the last part to the amusement of Kanahe, who translated for the little girl.

She turned and looked disapprovingly at Buck. She raised a fist and shook it at Buck, speaking sternly to him, her words unknown but her intent perfectly clear. Then she turned back to Chris. She patted his cheek and smiled, speaking again in that soft voice.

Vin and Kanahe laughed.

"What?" Buck asked. "What did she say?"

"It seems your animal magnetism ain't working on Morning Flower," Vin told him. "She said you shouldn't make fun of Yellow Hair just because his hair is prettier than yours. She said you're just jealous. And she told Chris that, if he wants, he can stay in the village forever."

Buck patted his hair and frowned. "I don't have pretty hair, huh? Maybe not, but I got a mustache," he said, smoothing it down with a thumb and forefinger.

Vin relayed his words to Morning Flower. She just shook her head and turned back to Chris. Running her finger across his bare upper lip, she smiled and commented again.

"She said Chris is more handsome because he's more like Indian men. And everyone knows that Indian men are braver and fiercer than white men. So Chris must be brave and fierce too," Vin translated. She patted Chris on the cheek again and then left with the other children, who were being called away by the women.

"Hmmm. I'm brave and fierce," Chris commented. "That beats animal magnetism any day of the week."

The men's laughter helped alleviate some of the earlier tension. None of them were surprised that a child was the cause.

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"Okay, Vin, where is she?" Chris asked.

Tanner glared at his friend for several long moments, then gestured to an area behind Chris. As went to stand up, Vin stopped him.

"Chris, wait. There's some things you need to know..."

"All I need to know is that the woman who killed my family is here. And I intend to see her and take her back to hang."

Chris stood up and began to move toward the area. He was stopped again when Kanahe and two Indian braves blocked his path.

"Get out of my way," he said quietly, the menace obvious in his voice.

"Chris! Show him some respect," Vin snarled. As much as Chris was his friend, he wouldn't have Kanahe pushed aside. He was the leader of the village and it was his right to say how things would be done. Larabee stared at Vin, then looked down, ashamed at his own high-handedness.

"I'm sorry." His words directed at Tanner and then at Kanahe. "I'm sorry, Kanahe. Vin's right. This is your home. I should ask your permission to see her. But..."

"Chris Larabee, do not trouble yourself with this," Kanahe said. "You will see her, but there are things you must understand first."

Although Chris was anxious to see Ella Gaines, he knew he must be patient. But patience had never been one of his strong points.

"C'mon, Chris, sit down and let them tell us what they need to," Buck said, taking Chris' arm and pulling him back to the fire. Larabee took a deep breath and let it out, trying to draw in some calm. He nodded and sat back down.

As they settled back around the fire, a scream shattered the quiet.

"Shit!" Buck jumped up. "What the hell was that?"

Kanahe and Vin exchanged a look, then Vin turned to the others.

"It that Ella?" Chris asked quietly.

"Yes," Tanner replied. Chris nodded.

"What the hell are they doing to her, Vin?" Buck asked, sickened by the screams. "It sounds like they're killin' her!"

"She far from dying, Buck. They're teachin' her a lesson in pain."

Chris flinched as another scream echoed around the village. The Indians went about their business as if it was normal hearing a woman scream like that. But then, he guessed it was by now. She'd been here over a week.

"Chris, we can't just sit here and let this go on," Buck insisted.

Larabee ignored him. "I want to see her," he told Kanahe. "I won't interfere, at least not yet. But I want to see her."

Kanahe didn't respond for a long time. Then he nodded. Chris stood and walked toward where the screams came from. Vin caught up with him just before he entered the clearing.

"Chris, remember what I told you. Ella killed Little Dove's son. She is the one giving out the punishment. Please, she won't understand if you take away her right to justice."

"What about my right to justice, Vin? I want that woman to pay for what she did to my wife and son."

"Chris, I understand that. And she will pay for that. But she must be made to pay for the Indian life she took as well. And that won't happen in a white man's court. Little Dove speaks English Chris. Talk to her. Listen to her. That's all I ask."

"Alright. I'll talk to her. But first I want to see Ella."

Vin nodded and turned to lead Chris to where Ella was being held, Buck and Kanahe following the two men.

They entered the clearing and Chris froze. Like Vin earlier, he could only see Ella from the back. But unlike Vin, he knew who it was before he could see her face. He stared at the marks on her back. He stomach churned as he remembered the smooth skin that he'd spent many nights caressing. That skin now sported several jagged cuts, blood flowing freely from the most recently applied.

"Dear, God!" Buck gasped. "Cut her down! How can you do that to a woman? How could you do that to anyone?"

Buck started forward, only to be stopped by a strong grip on his arm.

"Chris?" Buck's raised his eyes until his gaze settled on his old friend's face. Larabee clutched Buck's arm, but was watching the scene before him, staring at the marred back of the woman he'd once thought about spending his life with.

Chris was torn. He'd thought he loved her once. But whenever he remembered those days spent in passion in her bed, the vision of his burnt out cabin always pushed thoughts of her away. And the rage returned. His stomach protested his thoughts of life with Ella.

He'd had hopes of settling down again, of maybe even being a father again, when she'd presented him with the ranch she'd bought for them. Those thoughts were overwhelmed by the guilt that was now his constant companion. The guilt of knowing that his past with her was the cause of his family's deaths. The guilt of knowing he had bedded the woman that he would later learn had killed that family.

A scream brought him out of the despair he'd been drowning in. His grip tightened on Buck's arm, when the bigger man tried to pull away from him.

"Leave it be, Buck."

"Chris?" Wilmington turned to face him, shock and confusion evident on his face. "How can you let them do this to her? I know what she done to your family, but that doesn't give anyone the right to torture her," he pleaded.

Vin and Kanahe stood a distance away, waiting for the two men to finish their discussion. Vin had known that Buck would react this way, it was why he'd hoped that Chris would come alone. But, he also knew that Buck had lost family that night too. Sarah and Adam were as much a part of Buck's family as Chris was. And Buck was carrying his own brand of guilt having been the one to talk Chris into staying that extra night in Mexico.

He knew that it would be difficult for both men to deal with this confrontation with Ella. But it was necessary. The wounds had been festering for far too long and needed to be cleansed. After seeing Chris with Ella, he'd known that the man was ready to put his grief in the past and get on with his life.

But Ella wasn't the one he should spend that life with.

She was a murderous bitch who needed to be shown a small portion of the pain she had inflicted. And Vin knew that a white man's court would never allow that to happen. Oh, they might hang her. Might. But the chances of that were just too slim for Vin's piece of mind. More than likely, they would put her in prison. But even that wasn't assured.

Vin knew that Ella's looks and charm could keep her from ever seeing the inside of a prison. As he'd told Chris and Buck earlier, a male jury could all too easily be swayed by a pretty face and tears. He'd seen it happen. And he just couldn't take the chance of Ella being found innocent.

He had almost decided to wait until she was dead before wiring Chris. He hadn't wanted to put his friend through this. Hadn't wanted to force him to make this choice. But he also knew that Chris deserved the chance to confront her. He only hoped that the two men didn't try to take her by force. He knew if that happened, he would have a tough choice of his own to make.

"I promised not to interfere before I talked to Little Dove, Buck. Let me hear her side of the story first."

"Chris, we can't let them continue to torture her. It's barbaric. These sav…these Indians can't be allowed to do this."

"Savages? Is that what you were going to say, Buck?" Vin asked from behind them. Buck turned to face him. "They aren't savages!" He turned and called to the Indian woman standing behind Ella. White Dove looked at him, then at the two white men with him. She put the switch on the ground and walked toward them, her head raised in silent defiance.

As she got closer, they could see the pain and grief in her eyes. Vin spoke softly to her in her own language. She nodded and walked toward the center of the village.

"She is willing to tell you her story," Vin said, gesturing for them to follow her. Chris took one last look at Ella, before turning and following, along with Buck, Kanahe and Tonti.

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"Little Dove, this is my friend Chris Larabee. The white woman also killed Chris' young son and his wife. This happened years ago, about the time that your youngest son was born. The other man is Buck. He is family who also grieves their loss." Vin spoke to the woman in English as the group settled around the fire.

"Chris, remember that The People don't speak of the dead by name," Vin reminded him.

Chris nodded. He was familiar with that custom. Vin and Josiah both had mentioned it to him in the past.

Little Dove, like many others in the tribe, spoke English well. Her voice was soft and filled with a pain only a parent who had lost a child could understand. Since Vin had told her that the white woman had also killed Chris Larabee's wife and child, it was to him that she directed her words.

"We helped this white woman. She was sick and hurt when she was found. She was brought to our village and tended until she was well. Red Cloud and Swift Eagle were going to take her close to the white man's town. She was to be given a horse and supplies for the ride. They would have ridden with her for a distance so that she would be safe. She did not want to wait until the braves were ready to take her.

"She was afraid of us, even after we helped her. She would not talk to us, even though we spoke in her tongue. She wanted to leave, so she stole a horse. But she was not used to riding without saddle and at first had trouble controlling the horse."

"Then it was an accident!" Buck interjected. "You can't kill her for being scared."

White Dove turned her sad eyes toward the big man. "No. She quickly learned to control the horse by holding his mane. She began to ride out of the village, but the men stopped her."

"Why?" Chris asked. "Why did they stop her if they'd planned to give her a horse anyway? Why not just let her ride away?"

Kanahe spoke up then. "Because the horse we planned to give her was old, unable to work any longer. The horse she tried to steal was with child and my village needed the new colt."

Chris nodded his understanding and looked back at Little Dove. She took that as her cue to continue.

"Kanahe tried to tell her that she could leave, that we would give her another horse. She refused. She didn't want to wait any longer. As the men got closer she began kicking at them and turning the horse in circles. She was good on the horse...for a white woman."

"That doesn't surprise me," Chris said. "She was always a good horsewoman. So, you tried to stop her and she panicked. What happened after that?"

"She began screaming. Some of her words I did not understand. But she said that if we did not let her go she would damage our village. And then she would tell all the white men in the town that we harmed her. We feared that she would bring them back to destroy us. So Kanahe told the men to step back and let her go."

"I don't understand. If Kanahe told them to let her ride out, how did she end of killing your son?" Chris asked.

Pain flashed across Little Dove's face and her eyes watered. "She was angry. She told Kanahe that we should not have tried to keep her here. She turned her horse in circles and then she faced Kanahe again. She smiled. She looked evil. She told Kanahe that he would..." Little Dove turned to Kanahe and spoke briefly in their native language.

Kanahe looked at Chris. "She told me that we would regret keeping her here. That we would suffer for not following her wishes."

Little Dove watched Chris' face to be sure he understood. "She then turned her horse and looked at the women who had been around the sewing fire. They were standing now watching to see what would happen. She began to ride toward them. They ran. Tunah picked up my son and began to run with him. She stumbled and fell. My son fell from her arms. The white woman turned and rode her horse over them."

"Oh, God!" Chris said, closing his eyes. Buck just sat there with a stunned look on his face.

Little Dove took a deep breath, trying to keep her tears from falling. "Tunah has many bruises and cuts on her back and her legs. My son was struck in the head with a hoof. He was not breathing when I got to him. The white woman laughed. I heard her laugh as she tried to ride away." Little Dove put her head in her hands and wept.

Tonti took up the narrative. "My wife sat on the ground, clutching our son to her chest. I could not allow the woman to escape. I was in the path of her horse. I leaped at her and was able to drag her to the ground. I wanted to beat her to death. But Kanahe stopped me."

Kanahe placed a hand on Tonti's shoulder. "It was decided to have a tribal council to determine her fate. We had the boy's, how you say..." He turned to Vin and asked a question in his native language.

"Funeral," Vin supplied.

Kanahe nodded. "We had the boy's funeral and then the council met. Many, including Tonti, wanted to kill her and leave her body to the animals. But Little Dove would not allow it. She insisted, as the mother of the child killed, that it was her right to determine how the woman died. And of course she is correct. So, the woman's fate is in Little Dove's hands."

"Chris, we can't let them just kill her!" Buck pleaded. "That's murder."

"Is it?" Chris replied. "Is it any different than hanging her would be. Face it, Buck, she has to die for what she did. And, God forgive me, I'm not opposed to seeing her suffer some before she does."

"Chris!" Buck was shocked. He knew that Chris Larabee had been through hell since his family's death, but he never thought he'd hear the man condone torture, especially not the torture of a woman.

"What do you want me say, Buck? That bitch killed my family! My wife and my son. He was only five! Then she killed another child-a three-year old boy...deliberately ran him down! She needs to die!"

"She needs to be brought back for trail," Wilmington insisted.

The others watched the two men grapple with their consciences. Vin watched two friends possibly being torn apart. He would do what he could to help.

"Buck, if you were on that jury, would you convict her?" Vin asked.

"Of course I would."

"And would you sentence her to hang?"

"Without hesitation."

"Then what's the problem? She's gonna die either way."

"My way, she wouldn't be tortured first! My God, Vin, did you see what they're doing to her?"

"Yeah, I did. And I can't say I wouldn't do the same, if it was my child."

Buck's jawed dropped. Then he smirked.

"Well, I can't say that don't surprise me, Tanner. Always knew there was a little bit of..."

"Buck!" Chris snapped, knowing what his friend was about to say and not wanting him to make any enemies in the village, especially Vin Tanner.

Wilmington jerked and looked over at Larabee. For several long seconds they glared at each other. Then Buck seemed to reign in his rage just a bit and calmed down.

"Are you just gonna go along with this, Chris? You ain't never hurt a woman in your life. Least not on purpose. How can you allow this?'

"You're right, I would never hurt a woman. But that ain't a woman over there, Buck. That's a monster. It's bad enough that she hired Fowler to kill my family. But she killed a young child just to make a point. Did you hear what Little Dove said? Ella turned her horse and rode straight for Tunah and the boy. Deliberately ran them down. And laughed about it, Buck! She laughed after trampling a three-year old boy! He was younger than A..." He glanced around, remembering Vin's warnings. "He was younger than my son."

Chris reached over and grabbed Buck's arm with his hand. "Imagine if that had been my boy. And if we'd seen it happen. I can't get that imagine out of my head, Buck. Maybe Vin's right. Maybe this is the best way to handle it.'

"What?! Chris, we have to take her back for trial. We have to do this the right way. We're lawmen, for God's sake."

"My son was only five years old, Buck. She has to pay for what she did."

Buck jerked his arm out of Chris' grasped.

"I can't sit here and condone this! And I can't sit here and listen to that woman's screams. I understand you want justice, Chris, but this ain't the way. Nobody deserves to die like that. Nobody."

"Suit yourself."

Buck stood and walked away. Chris and Vin followed him with their eyes, then turned to look at each other.

"You want I should go talk to him?" Vin asked.

"No, he's too angry right now. I want to see her."

Vin nodded and turned to Little Dove. "May we go speak with the woman now?"

Little Dove raised her head. She glanced at Vin, then turned to look at Chris. These white men had accepted her story as truth before even talking to the woman. Even the angry one had known the truth, even if he didn't accept the punishment the woman was receiving. She and Chris stared at each other for a long time before she gave a small nod.

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	3. Chapter 3

**_Chapter 3_**

Vin walked around in front of Ella Gaines who was still hanging from the ropes. She was sagging down, almost to her knees, but the ropes kept her from falling to the ground. He leaned down and picked up a small, shallow bowl made of buffalo bone. He dipped it in the water nearby and lifted it to her mouth.

"Drink this," he said. Ella opened her mouth and greedily swallowed the cool liquid. He did this several times, until she'd had her fill.

Breathing heavily, she looked up at him. "Are you going to let me go now?"

He shook his head. "Just wanted you able to speak. Someone here wants to talk to ya."

Vin looked over Ella's shoulder, where Larabee stood behind her. Chris was staring at her back, at the damage that had been done to her skin. He raised his eyes and met Vin's. Tanner could see the sudden indecision in his face. He cocked his head, the silent question obvious.

Chris nodded. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths. Then he moved to stand next to Vin.

"Chris! Oh, Chris, you came!" Ella cried. "Cut me loose! We have to get out of here." She straightened up, as if seeing Larabee gave her strength. Her smile was marred by the cuts and bruises on her face, her ratty hair blown across her features by the slight breeze.

For several long seconds, Chris could only stare at her. His eyes move from her face down her body, to her dirty bare feet, then back up to her face. His eyes locked with hers.

"You killed them. You killed my wife and son." His voice was flat, unemotional. He shook his head, as if he couldn't quite comprehend that this woman was the cause of the pain he carried in his heart. Even now, just thinking about his dead family caused a soul-deep ache.

"Chris, I explained that to you. I only did it so that we could be together. It was for the best. It was necessary. For our love…"

"Love?! Love?" he shouted. Closing his eyes, he clenched his fists and took a deep breath. "You don't know what love is." He opened his eyes again and moved closer. He reached up and placed his hand on her cheek.

Ella turned her face toward his hand and kissed the palm.

"You came for me, Chris. That must tell you something. I know you love me." She smiled at him.

Larabee smiled, even as his hand moved down to the side of her neck. He brought his other hand up, placing it on the other side. He slid his thumbs to her throat.

Ella's smile disappeared as he slowly began to squeeze. Her breath became ragged as his grip tightened and cut off her air. When he could see the fear in her eyes, he released her.

"You are a monster. You're worse than anyone I have ever met in my life."

"And yet you slept with me," she said, her voice raspy.

"Yes, to my eternal shame. The thought of lying with you sickens me," he snarled, feeling the bile at the back of his throat. "If I'd known then what you had done, I would have killed you."

"Then why didn't you?" she asked, the smile returning. "You had the chance and didn't take it."

Chris closed his eyes. How could he answer that question when he didn't know the answer himself? He heard Tanner move closer and felt the hand come to rest lightly on his shoulder. After a long moment, he nodded and opened his eyes. He glanced at Vin, silently expressing his gratitude for his friend's presence.

Ella's voice interrupted the moment.

"Chris, cut me loose," she pleaded. "We can still have a life together. Once you understand that what happened was for the best…"

He slapped her. Hard. The imprint of his fingers quickly showed on her left cheek.

"Shut up," he growled.

"Chris…"

"SHUT UP!" he screamed, hitting her again, this time with a backhand. "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he yelled three more times, each yell accompanied by another hard slap.

Chris was pulled away, Vin's arm wrapped around his waist. He struggled briefly, but then allowed his friend to put some distance between them and Ella. But when he looked up at her face again, his anger just intensified. He twisted out of Vin's hold. At the same time, his hand slid the knife from its sheath on Vin's belt.

He quickly stepped up to Ella and thrust the blade into her shoulder. He heard Kanahe and White Dove yell, but couldn't understand what they were saying.

She cried out in pain and shock, not expecting the attack from her former lover. She tried to reach for the knife before realizing that her arms were still tied to the trees.

Chris pulled the knife out, then thrust it into her other shoulder.

"Don't say another word, you bitch! One more word and I will forget the promise I made and slit your throat!"

He roughly jerked the knife from her body, causing more pain, which he relished. He then jabbed the knife tip up against the bottom of her chin, daring her to speak again. The sharp metal dug into her skin, a trickle of blood joining the wet blood already on the blade.

She began to tremble and tears gathered in her eyes. But no sympathy could be seen in Chris Larabee's eyes. She began to open her mouth, but stopped suddenly when the angry man put more pressure on the knife, pushing her chin up a fraction of an inch.

The muscles in his arm tightened. He had to physically stop himself from smashing the knife upward into her brain. A hand wrapping around his on the hilt of the knife drew his eyes to his friend.

Tanner slowly drew his hand, and the knife, away from Ella. He gently loosened Chris' grip and took the knife from him. He wiped the blade clean on the tatters of Ella's dress and slipped it back onto his belt.

When Ella began to speak again, Vin slapped his hand over her mouth.

"Ya heard what he said. I can always give him the knife back," he threatened.

She swallowed and then nodded. He removed his hand slowly, watching to see if she would try to speak again. She lowered her eyes and stared at the ground.

"Chris, why don't you get some rest. Nothing will happen tonight."

Chris nodded and walked away, not sparing another look at the woman who had destroyed his life. He stopped, then headed away from the village, out into the dark night.

Vin turned back to Ella, then looked over to his left.

"Stay with him, Buck," he said. Wilmington came out of the trees and walked up to Tanner and Ella. "He may need ya."

"How'd you know I was there?" Buck asked. Vin didn't answer. "Never mind," the big man said before he walked off to follow his oldest friend.

Tanner turned back to the woman who hung before him. "I'll have someone come and bandaged your wounds."

"Why bother? Why not just let me bleed to death?" she asked, her voice betraying her pain.

"Ain't my place to say when you die. That's up to White Dove. And Chris."

Without another word, Vin turned and stepped up to White Dove and Kanahe.

"Chris still feels much pain," he said, trying to explain.

White Dove placed a hand over his mouth.

"It is good that he releases his pain. He may share my justice if he wishes."

"I will tell him. Thank you."

He turned and headed back to Kanahe's tipi.

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Chris walked away and kept walking, needing to get as far from Ella Gaines as he could. His walk quickly turned into a staggering run. He didn't realize he was crying until his vision blurred so badly that he stumbled and dropped to his knees.

Panting, he fell forward, his palms slapping the ground. A vision of Adam and Sarah sprang up before him, waving goodbye the day he and Buck had left on that cursed trip to Mexico. Then the vision was shattered, bringing to terrifying clarity another, more horrible image, of two charred bodies.

He couldn't stop the bile this time. His stomach heaved and he vomited. It took several minutes for his gut to settle again.

He sat back on his heels, taking deep breaths, trying to regain control. He looked up at the blue sky, soft white clouds slowly drifted past. Sarah had always loved this time of year, when it was closing in on fall and the days were just slightly cooler.

He gasped as the pain stabbed into his heart again. His beautiful Sarah would lie on her back in the grass and watched the clouds. Oftentimes, Adam was there with her. They would call out the different shapes they'd see in the clouds.

"Oh, God, Sarah," he cried. "I'm so sorry. You and Adam didn't deserve this." He reached up and ran his fingers through his hair, clutching at the strands, not feeling the pain that seemed infinitesimal compared to that which seared his soul. He brought his hands down, now clenched in fists. He pounded his thighs before he dropped both arms in defeat.

"Saraaaah!" he wailed, his face upturned, tears running in rivers down his cheeks. His sobs turned slowly to whimpers and he slumped back. He leaned against a large rock behind him, his legs pulled against his chest. He wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face against his knees.

He wasn't sure how long he sat there before he noticed that someone had joined him. Looking up, he fully expected to see Tanner, but was only mildly surprised to find Buck Wilmington leaning against a nearby tree.

Buck turned his head to look at Chris, then held out the canteen he carried in his right hand. Chris took it and swallowed the cool liquid, soothing his throat. He pulled off his kerchief and wet it from the canteen, then wiped his face.

Buck reached out a hand. Chris looked at the hand, then at Buck's face. Returning his gaze to the outstretched hand, he reached his own up and grasped Buck's. He allowed Buck to help him up, but rather than release his grip, his slid his hand up Buck's arm.

The two men clutched forearms for a long moment. Although no words were spoken each could see the emotions in the other. Their shared pain was tempered by a lasting friendship.

Chris had never been more grateful to the big man for continuing to be a part of his life.

Wilmington gestured over his shoulder. "Feel like walking back or you want to stay for a while, watch the sun set?"

Chris looked around, suddenly confused. He couldn't remember coming out here.

Wilmington sighed. "We came quite a ways, Pard. Village is about two miles back."

"Aw hell," Chris muttered, which caused Buck to laugh, hearing Vin Tanner's favorite expression coming from Larabee.

"Guess we best get a move on if we want to get back to the village before dark," Chris said. The two men began to stroll back, not really in any hurry.

After about five minutes, Chris glanced over at his friend. Buck had been silent during the walk, highly unusual for the normally effusive man.

"You don't have to stay," he said.

Wilmington stopped and briefly looked at the sky. Nervously he reached up and smoothed down his mustache.

"I know, Chris. And truth be told, I'm not sure I can. I understand how you feel, truly I do. I'm just not sure I can watch it...listen to it...to her...screaming like that." He grimaced, the distaste evident on his face.

Chris nodded. "I know. But I need to be here. I gotta see it through. I made a promise to Sarah and Adam," he said, his voice cracking when he spoke their names. "I made a promise to myself."

"Do you think this is right, what they're doing?" Buck asked.

Larabee sighed. "I...I don't know. I know how you feel about women being hurt. But, this...the horror that she's set loose...I keep seeing their blackened bodies..."

Buck gripped his shoulder, squeezing tight.

Chris continued, his voice almost too soft to hear. "God, Buck. I had finally been able to get that image out of my head. Finally able to see them again like they were before, but now..."

"Ah, Chris. Hell, maybe we should both leave and let Vin and these Indians do what they gotta do."

"NO!" Chris replied vehemently. "No! I have to stay. If she's gonna die here, I have to stay. I have to see her...I have to be sure..."

"...be sure she's dead? Really dead?" Buck offered.

Chris nodded. "I have to know it's over. I know how that makes me sound."

"You sound like a man still in pain, still grieving the death of his family."

Larabee rubbed his face. "I bedded her, Buck," he said quietly. "I thought about staying on at that ranch, raising horses. Hell, I even thought about having a family again. Now, I get sick just thinking about it."

"Chris, you didn't know. None of us knew. It ain't wrong to want some happiness in your life. God knows you've had too much pain already. Sarah wouldn't want you to drown yourself in grief for the rest of your life. She'd probably be pissed you spent this long grievin' for her..."

Buck raised a hand to stop the angry protest he could see getting ready to erupt from his friend.

"I know. You have to grieve in your own way. I'm just saying, Sarah wouldn't want you to be sad forever. Anymore than you would want her to, if the situation was reversed. I wish..." Buck dropped his hand. "I just wish I'd never asked you to stay that night."

"Don't, Buck. Like I told you before, I coulda rode home alone. Nobody forced me to stay."

"But still..."

Larabee moved to stand directly in front of his oldest friend, glaring up at the taller man.

"Fine, you blame yourself. And at first, maybe, so did I," he said angrily.

Buck flinched, surprised. Although he always thought that Chris blamed him, the other man had never said so in words, not even during his most drunken moments.

Larabee grabbed both of Buck's arms as he saw the other man start to back away.

"I should have said this years ago," he said, "but you know how bullheaded I can be." The two men exchanged small smiles. Chris tightened his grip.

"It. Was. Not. Your. Fault. I. Don't. Blame. You. But if you don't believe that and if you need to hear the words, I'll say them. Buck Wilmington, I forgive you. And I'm sorry that I treated you like so much dirt those first few months, hell years, after they died. You were always there when I needed you. I pushed and pushed and you still stuck around."

He shook Buck. "I cussed you. I beat you. I threatened to shoot you on more than one occasion. But you were still there in the morning to make sure I ate and to hold my head as I threw up the liquor from the night before. You were my friend then and you are my friend now. And I hope you will always be my friend. And I'm sorry for not paying attention when you tried to talk about them. I guess I just didn't want to think about how much you had lost too."

Chris dropped his hands. "I drank to forget, but I couldn't...they wouldn't let me go. No matter how much I wanted to forget...No, I didn't want to forget them. I just wanted to forget how they died. I didn't want to remember that they weren't there anymore. And you were a constant reminder. I'm sorry. I just wanted to forget..."

Buck reached up and wrapped his big hand around the back of Chris' neck. That caused the tears to start again. He pulled the crying man close, his other arm going around Chris' back.

Chris' sobs wracked his body, his hands finding their way to the front of Buck's shirt, grasping the cloth and holding tight. Buck held him, his own tears falling silently.

Finally, Chris pulled away, wiping his eyes. He looked up to see Buck doing the same. His eyes met his friend's and both began to smile, a huge weight now lifted from both hearts.

Chris jerked his head. Buck nodded, and both men turned once again to the trail heading back to the village.

Five minutes later, the rounded a large boulder and found both their horses tethered to a tree, saddles on the ground nearby.

"Vin?" Buck asked.

"Vin," Chris confirmed.

The two men grinned at each other.

"I swear, that boy gets spookier by the day," Buck remarked.

"Yep," Chris said, as he picked up his saddle. He set it on his horse's back and cinched it up.

"But he's a good man," Buck added, picking up his own saddle and doing the same.

"Yep," Chris repeated, as he mounted.

"And good with a rifle," Buck said, pulling himself up onto his mount.

"The best I've ever seen," Chris told him, guiding the horse onto the trail.

"I like him," Buck said.

"Yep," the two men said together.

Laughing, they nudged their horses into a gentle trot.

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Buck Wilmington sat on the ground, leaning against a tree. He sipped at a cup of the strong tea that Kanahe's wife had brewed.

He let his gaze wander around the village. He watched the women putting together the morning meal. The kids were just off to his right, playing a game of some kind. Letting his eyes move around the area, he spotted Chris just coming out of the tipi that Kanahe had given the two men to use. Thinking about it now, he wasn't sure where Vin had slept the night before. Buck smiled. Probably found him some squaw...then he shook his head.

Vin would have his head for sure. The tracker hated when people used that word when talking about Indian women. He'd explained to Buck exactly what the word meant and Buck agreed it was derogatory, but old habits died hard. He just prayed he never used the word here in the village. They'd string him up right next to Ella Gaines. And he knew that Tanner would be the one doing the torturing then.

Ella. Crap. He was so confused. He knew what she'd done to Chris' family. To the young Indian boy. But he still couldn't condone the treatment she was receiving. He remembered seeing her skin all cut up and the bruises on her body. He hadn't heard any screaming during the night. He wandered if maybe they let her rest during the night. Surely Little Dove had to sleep sometime.

He hoped the reason she was silent wasn't because she was dead. Then again, maybe if she was, it would solve his dilemma. He could see how much this was tearing at Chris. Maybe if Ella just died they could call this chapter finished and go back to Four Corners, where they belonged.

Buck sighed. He wanted to just grab his old friend and ride out. Leave Tanner and these Indians to their business. But he couldn't, in good conscience, leave Ella in their hands. Orin Travis had hired them to keep the peace. Not to allow someone to be subjected to all that pain.

As if to punctuate his thoughts, a loud scream echoed through the village. No one seemed to pay it any mind. Buck shook his head. Had these people gotten so used to it that it didn't even register any more. He glanced over at Larabee.

On second thought, Chris seemed to have heard it. He was staring off in the distance, facing the direction where Ella was tied up. Buck couldn't see his face clearly from that distance, but he could tell by Chris' stiff posture that the screams bothered him, too. At least, Buck hoped that's what he was seeing.

Buck watched as one of the Indian women approached Chris with a bowl of whatever they were serving for breakfast. The young Indian girl who had been so enamored with Chris that first day followed. The girl carried a cup that Buck figured contained the same strong tea that he'd been given that morning. Chris smiled at her, then sat down in front of the tipi and began to eat. The girl sat down beside him as the woman went back to her work.

"Hungry, Buck?" Wilmington looked up to see Tanner standing next to him, holding two bowls.

"Depends. What's for breakfast?"

Vin handed him one of the bowls and a spoon then sat down, cradling his own.

"Sometimes it's best not to ask," he remarked, using a wooden spoon to dish up what looked like a mush of grains and berries and some little black things that he couldn't identify.

Buck looked into his bowl. "No bacon and beans?"

"Nope. Try it, it's actually pretty good."

Wilmington grimaced, but dipped the spoon into the concoction. He tentatively raised it to his lips. Flicking out his tongue, he took a small taste. And was pleasantly surprised. He slipped the spoon between his lips and tasted more.

"Not bad."

Vin nodded and swallowed before he replied. "Amazing what a little honey will do for berries and bugs, huh?"

Buck stopped, spoon poised before his mouth. The look on his face told Vin that he wasn't sure whether he would be able to keep down what he'd just swallowed.

Tanner chuckled. "Just kidding, Bucklin. It's berries, corn grain and bit of jerky."

"Not funny, Tanner." Wilmington glared at the man who sat beside him.

"Oh, I don't know. You shoulda seen the look on your face."

Buck didn't reply, just continued eating the mush. For the next several minutes neither man spoke as they finished their meal. Then Vin set down his bowl and picked up his cup.

"I know this is hard for you, Buck. Hell, it's hard for all of us."

Wilmington nodded. "I just...Vin, nobody deserves to be put through that. She should be brought back to Eagle Bend for trial."

Vin hunched forward cradling his cup in both hands. "Buck, you were a lawman once. Do you really think there's enough proof to convict her of killin' Sarah and Adam?"

"What do you mean? She admitted it."

"Yeah, to Chris. To us." He smiled sadly. "Do you really think she's gonna admit it in court? We got nothing that connects her to the murders. We got nothing that connects her to Fowler."

"She had Sarah's locket."

"Be hard pressed to prove it was Sarah's," Vin said.

"We all saw that room, with all those pictures of Chris, with Sarah cut out of the picture. The newspapers about the fire."

"That just proves she was obsessed with Chris. Doesn't proved she had his family killed."

"It'll have to be enough."

"You willing to stake Chris' sanity on that? Cuz if she ain't convicted...if she's allowed to go free...it'll kill 'im. He won't be able to live, knowing who killed his family and not seeing justice done. He'll end up killin' her himself and he'll be the one hung. Is that what you want? And what about Little Dove? Isn't she entitled to some justice?"

Buck sighed. "Vin, you and I both know that she won't ever be convicted of killing that Indian boy. It ain't right, I know that. It's just the way things are."

"So, she gets away with three murders."

"We gotta take her back and give the Judge a chance."

"Ain't gonna happen, Buck. I'll fight ya on this one."

Vin turned his head and looked at Wilmington. Then he stood and started to walk away. Wilmington jumped up.

Buck grabbed his arm and spun him around. "You gonna shoot me to keep her here?" he asked, having finally realized what he had to do. "Cuz that's what you're gonna have to do. I plan on taking that lady in for trial. If I have to go through you to do it, I will."

"You're outnumbered here, Buck. You'd never get her out of the village," Vin stated calmly.

The tall man smirked. "Damn, Tanner. The more I get to know you, the more Indian you seem."

"Thanks for the compliment, Bucklin." Tanner turned and started to walk away, but turned back. "Oh, one more thing. Little Dove has decided the manner of Ella's death. She'll die by fire. Little Dove thinks it's only fitting. It's her way of honoring the memory of Chris' wife and son. It's just too bad you're willing to let her own son's death go unpunished."

Vin left without another word, leaving Buck to wonder if he'd ever really understand the enigmatic tracker.

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	4. Chapter 4

**_Chapter 4 _**

Two hours later, Buck was trying to convince Chris, once again, to take Ella back to Eagle Bend.

"Damn it, Chris! We can't let this happen! It ain't right."

"Vin and I had a long talk last night, Buck."

"That figures. So he's turned ya ta his way a'thinkin'?" Buck shook his head and paced a few steps away. "Chris, she don't deserve to be judged this way. She's a woman from a civilized town. We need to take her back and let the Judge decide what's right for her punishment."

"She killed them, Buck. She needs to die."

"It's up to the Judge to decide that! Not us! And not these Indians!" he yelled, trying to get his point across.

"It's not that easy."

"Why not? Let's just get her and take her out of here."

"They won't let us do that! There's too many of them."

"Then I'll ride back to Stacy and get the Sheriff and some more men."

Both men turned as they heard someone walk toward them. "And what do you think those men will do when they find a white woman being strung up by these "savages" Buck?" Vin asked bitterly. "Do you really think they'll leave any part of this village standing?"

"Tanner! Figures you'd butt in here. Can't even have a private conversation with a friend."

"Not so private, Buck. Could hear ya yellin' all the way in the village. By the way, Ella says to tell you thanks."

"What the hell are you talkin' about, Tanner?" Buck said, confusion on his face.

"She can hear ya too. Says she's glad there's still a gentleman around that agrees that she should be let go. She's singing your praises, Buck. Thinks you're gonna set her free."

"I'm not gonna free her..."

"Really! The people in the village don't know that. Maybe it would be best if you left." Vin turned to look at his grieving friend, his voice going softer. "Chris, maybe you should go with him. You don't need to be here for this. Once it's over, I'll come get ya, so's ya can see that she's dead."

Larabee began to shake his head, then stopped. He and Vin stared into each other's eyes for a long minute. "I'll think about it." He started to walk back toward the village. "I think I'm gonna take a ride. Need to clear my head. Alone."

Vin nodded his understanding. Chris stopped next to Buck and put his hand on the taller man's shoulder. "Thanks, Buck. I'll think about what you said."

Wilmington watched his oldest and closest friend walk away. At least Chris wasn't pushing him away this time. He supposed he should be grateful for that.

He turned and found Tanner staring at him. "What?"

"Will ya leave?"

"So you can torture her some more? No, I don't think so. If I leave, she's going with me."

Vin shook his head, but said no more. He started to walk away, only to be stopped when Buck moved to stand in front of him.

"Still think these people shouldn't be called savages, Tanner?" he snarled. "Cuz, I think that word fits perfectly. What they're doing, it's pure savage! The more I learn about you, the less I like you."

Tanner's eyes narrowed. Then he shrugged.

"So leave if you hate it here so much. Nobody asked you to come here. But Chris brought you along, so I figured maybe he knew what he was doing, that maybe he needed your support. But you're just tearing him apart. You're forcing him to make a choice that he doesn't need to make. That he won't be allowed to make. You're killin' his family all over again."

Vin's voice was soft, but the words were hard. Harsh. And they struck Buck like a fist.

And so Buck struck back. With his fist. Tanner staggered under the blow.

"Fuck you, Tanner!" he snarled. "Fuck you and these Indians! This is uncivilized! What they are going to that woman is a wrong!"

Tanner wiped at the blood on his lip. "I'm gonna let you get away with that one, Buck, since I know how upset ya are."

"Don't do me any favors." Buck shoved the tracker, moving him back a few steps.

"Leave it be, Buck. You can't win here. Chris should have left you behind. I knew you'd pull this crap. She ain't one of your lady friends who need protectin'."

"I have every right to be here," Wilmington insisted. "I knew Sarah and Adam." With each statement he poked Vin in the chest with a finger. "You didn't. I know Chris. Probably better than you do. And I know that the only reason he's even tolerating what those people are doing to Ella, is because he's still hurtin'. He's never stopped grievin' for his family. And you're playin' right into that!"

"You poke me again and I'll forget we're friends," Tanner warned.

"Friend?! I'm not sure I want to be your friend if this is the way you treat people. I never realized you were into torture, Vin. Damn it you ain't no better than…"

Buck's words were interrupted by a fist connecting to his jaw. He went down.

"I told you not to call them names!" Vin snarled. "They're people, just like you and me. They have feelings. The love, they hate, just like white folk. They grieve. I won't have you disrespecting them in their own home."

"Fuck you, Tanner," Buck said, getting to his feet. "I won't stand for this. I'm taking her out of here."

"You'll have to go through me."

"If that's how it has to be!" Buck yelled as he lunged for the normally soft-spoken ex-bounty hunter. Wrapping his arms around Vin's waist, he dragged him to the ground. His larger body landed on Tanner, bringing a grunt from the smaller man, but not taking him out of the fight.

Vin brought an elbow up and smashed it against Buck's left ear, causing the big man to loosen his hold slightly. Vin moved backward and stumbled to his feet, only to be brought down again when Wilmington grabbed an ankle and pulled.

Tanner kicked out with his free leg, catching Buck in the chest. Wilmington fell back, his head bouncing off the hard ground.

"Stop!"

Both men looked up to find Kanahe standing there, anger and sorrow fighting for dominance on his face.

"You will stop this or you will both be asked to leave our village."

"Kanahe..."

"No, Silent One. My people do not need to hear you argue. They are already upset that I have allowed white men into the village during this time. If you continue to argue, I will ask you all to leave."

"The woman..." Buck began.

"The woman is going to die here, in this village. If you feel that this is wrong, than you can leave. But it is our custom and while you are in our village you will abide by our customs! I do not go into your towns and tell you what you do is wrong. If you cannot respect our ways, then leave."

"I can't leave the woman here to suffer like that," Buck insisted

"She is paying for her crime," Kanahe said simply. "You will not be allowed to interfere." With that statement Kanahe turned and walked away leaving the two men staring after him.

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Buck and Vin were sitting on opposite sides of the fire when Chris returned from his ride later that afternoon. He saw the evidence of their dispute in the marks on their faces and knuckles. He shook his head.

Damn Ella Gaines. She continued to bring trouble, if only by her presence. He settled down by the fire himself, glancing back and forth between the two men. After several minutes of silence he spoke up.

"One of you want to tell me what's going on? Or do I want to know?"

Wilmington looked up, anger still evident on his face, glaring at the tracker across the flames.

"Your buddy over there," he began, gesturing with the cup of coffee in his hand. "He's bound and determined to let this thing happen. He's willing to let them just kill her. It ain't right."

Vin didn't say a word, didn't look Buck's direction, didn't indicate in any way that he heard Wilmington's remarks. But Chris saw the tightening of his jaw and knew the man was clenching his teeth, fighting the urge to respond.

Larabee looked around, unable to ignore the glares he was receiving from some of the village's residents. Seems like things had gotten decidedly worse since he'd gone on his ride.

"Maybe we should leave," he commented. That brought a response from Tanner, if only the raising of an eyebrow.

Buck's response was more verbal. "Now you're talking!" the big man "I'll get the horses ready, while you go get Ella." He stood and tossed the remainder of his coffee on the fire.

Before he could walk away, Chris grabbed his wrist. "We don't want to start something here that we can't stop, Buck."

"What are you saying, Chris? You don't intend to leave her here do you?"

Although Larabee wasn't looking at Tanner, he could feel the younger man's eyes boring into his back. He had to step lightly here, not wanting to lose either of his friends.

"Sit down, Buck. The three of us need to talk."

"As far as I'm concerned, there ain't nothin' to talk about, Chris," Buck snarled, jerking his arm from Chris' grip. "We can't let them dole out justice like this. I can't believe you're willing to let this happen. You ain't the man I thought I knew."

Chris' face darkened. "You're right. I'm not the man you knew. I'm not the same man I was three years ago. I haven't been the same since the night my family was murdered. And that woman over there is the one responsible for that." His voice was soft, but his tone was hard…harsh and angry. "I won't ever again be the man you knew back then."

Buck's expression softened and he slid down to sit next to his long-time friend. He ran his hand down his face.

"Shit! Chris, I know how tough it's been for you. Hell, you know how I felt about those two. But, God help me, I can't condone what's happening here! I wasn't raised that way. It ain't right!"

"If we take her back and she's sentenced to hang, will you intervene then?" Chris asked quietly.

"Of course not! After she's been tried and convicted, it's a whole new story. But she hasn't a trial, Chris."

"Yes, she has," Vin said from across the fire. "Just not one you're willing to understand."

"Don't you start again, Tanner," Wilmington said, his finger pointing in accusation. "I've had about enough of you and your way of doing things."

"Buck…" Chris began, stopping when Vin stood up.

"I'll think I'll go check on my horse," Tanner said. Chris nodded and watched his friend walk away.

"That was uncalled for, Buck."

"Fuck that, Larabee! Ever since you met him you've…." He stopped and looked away.

"I've what, Buck. Go ahead, finish what you were gonna say."

Chris wasn't angry. He was too tired and too emotionally drained to put any effort into being angry. The last couple of days had been extremely hard on him. And when Buck looked at him again, it was obvious that he could see that. It drained any lingering anger at Vin Tanner right out of him.

"Sorry, Chris. I know this is tough on you. I just…well, before you met Vin, there's no way you would have allowed these Indians to keep her here. You would have dragged her out of here yourself. You've changed."

"Yeah, Buck. I have changed. But not all of it has to do with Vin. Most of the changes have been because I lost them. I lost my wife and son. And I know how you felt about them, Buck. Truly I do. But you can't know the pain of losing a child until it happens to you. I hope, I pray, that you never, ever feel that kind of pain. It goes right down into your soul, Buck. It hurts so bad that you don't think it will ever stop hurting. I don't ever want you to feel that kind of pain."

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, feeling the strength of his friend through the hand Buck placed on his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, he could see the tears glistening in Buck's eyes.

"I understand how you feel about Ella, Buck. And maybe, three years ago, I might have felt the same way. Hell, three months ago, I might have felt the same way. But now, every time I think about her, all I can see is my family, how they were the last time we saw them, when we buried them. And I know that she is responsible for that. I just want to see her pay for what she did, Buck, and at this point, I really don't care who the executioner is, as long as in the end she's dead and buried."

Chris looked around again, watching the children play across the village.

He continued, his voice softer now. "I'm glad she's suffering. I'm glad she's feeling pain. I hope she's scared. I hope she's more frightened then she's ever been in her life. And, God forgive me, but I want to see the life leave her eyes. I want to be sure that she's dead. I want to hear her beg for her life, like I'm sure Sarah and Adam did."

"Chris…"

"I dream about that night, Buck. I can hear them calling for me. I can hear them begging for mercy." His voice was a mere whisper, as if talking louder would awaken those spirits again.

"Chris, don't do this to yourself." Buck moved his hand from Chris' shoulder to the back of his neck. "You're right, I can't know what it's like and I hope to God I never have to find out. I'm sorry I've made this more difficult for ya. I just…it just ain't in me to let a woman suffer like that…"

Chris nodded his head. He reached over and squeezed Buck's knee. "I know it's hard for you. I know you don't like to see women hurtin'. And I hate to see what it's doing to you and Vin. It's just one more thing that Ella is destroying."

"Aw, hell, Chris. Don't you worry none about me and that scruffy Texan. We'll work out our differences." Buck glanced in the direction Vin had gone. He wasn't really sure it was possible to fix things with Tanner, but he didn't want his old friend to worry about it right now.

Buck sat with Chris for another thirty minutes, leaving when Kanahe came to sit by the fire. The Chief watched the tall man walk away.

"Your friend is troubled."

"Yes," Chris replied. "He finds it difficult to see the woman being hurt."

Kanahe nodded. "The Silent One is upset that your friend is angry with him. He thinks it would be best if you all left."

Larabee looked up. "And you. What do you think would be best?"

Kanahe sighed. "I think that my people would be more at ease if you left."

"I don't want to cause your people any more pain then they've already been through."

"My people would be more at ease if you left, but sometimes the easy way is not the best way."

The two men stared at each other for a long moment.

"You want us to stay?" Chris asked.

"If I could spare my people pain by asking you to leave, I would. I threatened to do that earlier with Silent One and your tall friend."

Chris nodded.

"But what I want is not important. The Spirits have decided that you should be here. I do not argue with the Spirits. They are more powerful than I. They are more powerful than us all. They have decided that you should be here. We each have our own paths to follow and the Spirits can only show us those paths and try to nudge us in the right direction. But it is up to us to decide if we follow or not."

Kanahe smiled. He reminded Chris so much of Kojay, with his cryptic statements and the look in his eyes that told you he knew the answer to the question, even when you couldn't be sure what the question was.

Chris shook his head. "It sure will be an interesting couple of days."

"Ah, yes. Interesting. This is good, yes?" Kanahe asked.

"Well, I don't know about good. But it won't be boring, that's for sure."

The two men became quiet after that, content to sit back and relax, both somehow knowing it would be the last chance they would have to relax for a while.

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Buck Wilmington wandered around the village for the next hour. He returned just before supper. He settled in next to Chris who was talking to Kanahe. Both men were eating from bowls of food. As Buck sat down, one of the women handed him a bowl also. When he looked up to say thank you, his smile died on his face at the looked of anger on hers.

He nodded at her and she quickly walked away.

"I guess I ain't made any friends here," he muttered.

"They are still upset with you for arguing with Silent One," Kanahe told him. "My people are fond of him and don't wish to see him hurt."

Buck took a bite of the food, rabbit he thought. "I don't want to see him hurt either, Kanahe. But he and I have a difference of opinion. I'm...well, I tend to yell a lot when I'm trying to get my point across. I never meant for anyone to hear our argument. Where is he, by the way?"

"Out doing some hunting," Chris said. "Said not to expect him back for a few hours. Maybe not 'til morning. I offered to join him, but he said he needed some time alone."

"Silent One spends much time alone, even when he is in the village," Kanahe remarked.

"He's the same way in town," Chris said. "Can't seem to stay for more than a few days at a time before he starts to get antsy and has to ride out for a while."

"Silent One was born of the wilderness." For several minutes, the three men ate and talked quietly.

"Speak of the devil…" Buck said and gestured to his right.

They turned to see Tanner leading his horse into the village. A large deer was draped over the horse's flanks. He stopped and helped some of the women remove the animal and they dragged it to a large clearing just outside the village. One of the younger boys took Vin's horse and led it off toward the river. Vin turned and headed toward the fire, stopping only to accept the bowl and cup offered to him by another of the tribe's women, who smiled and patted his arm.

He joined Chris, Buck and Kanahe, as well as several other men around the fire.

"It was a good hunt I see," Kanahe stated.

"Yes. Silver Wolf had said that I would find deer there. There were many. If I'd had more horses, I could have brought back more."

"I'd be glad to join you if you want to go out again tomorrow, Vin," Chris offered.

"The people can always use fresh meat," Tanner responded.

"In the morning then. Buck, you want to join us?"

Wilmington and Tanner exchanged glances. As usual, it was hard for Buck to read the younger man and wasn't sure of his welcome.

"Ah, sure. I guess I'll go with ya."

Tanner just nodded and turned his attention to his meal.

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Two Days Later

Vin wandered over to check on Little Dove and Tonti. He wasn't surprised to see Chris sitting on a boulder, watching Ella. Little Dove had stopped flogging her, but the welts and cuts on her back were still angry and inflamed.

"Hey, Cowboy," he said quietly, moving to lean against the same boulder. Chris just nodded in return. Neither man spoke for the next several minutes. Instead they listened as Ella first taunted Little Dove, then begged to be released, offering money and horses. Her voice was ragged and soft, even when she tried to yell.

"She's getting weak," Chris commented.

"Yeah. 'nother day or two I think."

Chris nodded. He sighed and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Chris. I never meant for this to be so hard for ya."

"Not your fault. I needed to be here. I don't think I would have accepted it otherwise. I'd keep looking over my shoulder waiting for her to show up again. Can't live like that."

"I know that feeling."

Chris finally turned to look at his friend. "Yeah, I know you do. Once this is over we should take care of that problem."

"It'll wait. It's waited this long already. A few more days won't matter."

"Yeah," Chris replied, turning his attention back to Ella. "It'll wait. But not too long. And then, my friend, you and I will take a nice long trip, get away from all this shit and do some fishing."

"Sounds like a plan."

They became silent then, watching day turn into night, hearing the nocturnal creatures come alive, their calls interrupted periodically by a soft voice begging for her life.

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	5. Chapter 5

**_Chapter 5_**

Vin still sat there long after Chris had gone to get some sleep. Tonti had taken Little Dove to bed also, after speaking with Vin and accepting his offer to watch the captive. Vin promised to come get them if Ella died.

He moved next to the captive, filling a bowl with water on the way. Lifting it to her lips, he tilted it slightly when she opened her mouth. It took an effort for her to open her eyes.

"Where's Christopher?" she asked weakly.

"Asleep."

"Why won't he rescue me?" she asked, seemingly confused at her former lover's lack of assistance.

"Ya killed his family. Even you can't expect him to help ya escape."

"I only did it because I love him."

"That ain't love. That's hatred. Evil, pure and simple."

She didn't say anything for several minutes as he continued to serve her the water.

"It's all your fault," she finally remarked. "If you hadn't looked into my business, Chris and I would be married by now."

"I don't think so. I think he knew something was wrong. He would have realized eventually that there was a problem, even without my help."

"He would have understood if you would have just let him be."

Vin didn't answer for a minute, placing the bowl back on the ground. He heard a noise in the woods. Looking past Ella, he saw movement.

Buck Wilmington hadn't been as quiet as he thought, especially when he was leading a horse behind him. Vin wondered if he was getting ready to leave, or if he'd planned to come and release Ella and take her back to Four Corners.

Vin looked at Ella. He closed his eyes and prayed to the Spirits that Buck would forgive him eventually for what he was about to do...for the pain he was about to cause him.

Tanner walked back over to Ella. Standing before her, he took in the bruises and cuts on her face, difficult to see now in the flickering flames from the small fire nearby.

"So, how did you meet Fowler?"

"I'm a business woman. I meet lots of people in my business."

"You must have paid him pretty well. He died rather than tell Chris who hired him to kill Sarah and Adam."

"I always pay well. You cut these ropes and I'll pay you well."

Vin ignored the bribery attempt. "Why Chris? Why not some man who didn't have the burden of family?"

"I love Chris. Have since the day I met him. Will until the day I die."

"That day will be soon, Ella. Real soon."

"Not if Buck Wilmington has anything to say about it," she replied smugly.

"He don't."

"We'll see about that, now won't we." She smiled. "I've heard the two of you arguing. I know he won't let me die here in this stinking rat hole. I knew the kind of man he was when he started spending time with Hilda. She was hardly a great beauty, yet he became enamored of her."

"Hilda? She was your cousin right?"

"That's right. You didn't get to know her well, since you were off butting into my business in Red Fork," she snarled, her weakened state causing her anger to lose any power to affect him.

"I wasn't about to let Chris get too deeply involved with you until I'd learned more about everything that was going on."

"We were already deeply involved. We had a past together, remember? We would have married, but you had to interfere!" she said, angrily. She began struggling again, her fight short as her strength gave out.

"No, I don't think so. Buck was suspicious too, ya know. Something about some suits supposedly left by your late husband."

"Buck was distracted, like his kind always is. He was after one thing, trying to bed one of the ladies in the house. Of course, I never figured it would be Hilda! Of all people for him to fall for, the ugliest of the bunch!"

A softly muttered "bitch" drew Vin's attention to the trees. Buck stood there, hands curled into fists, staring daggers at Ella's back. Vin only knew of Buck's affections for Hilda from JD. Oh, he'd seen the lady chasing Buck, but had also seen the big man running quickly in the opposite direction whenever she was around.

But he'd also noticed how upset he'd been when they buried the woman and JD had explained that Buck had become more attentive after hearing her sing. And he'd seen himself how she'd come to his rescue with that shotgun.

"Buck won't help you Ella. These people won't let him."

Ella smiled, wincing as the cut on her lip pulled. "He won't let them kill me. I heard him say so."

Vin shook his head.

"These people saved your life, Ella. You were hurt and they helped you get better. And you repay them by killing one of their children."

"They wouldn't let me leave," she snarled, trying to justify the death. "And besides, it was only an Indian, not like a real child."

"That Indian child was more special than you could ever hope to be," Vin growled.

"You have a soft spot for these savages, don't you?"

"I love all human life, unlike you. And what about Adam Larabee? He wasn't an Indian child."

"He was **her **child! That whore who took my Chris from me!"

"You mean Sarah."

"Whore!"

"Sarah Larabee," he said, emphasizing the last name.

"No! Shut up! She had no right to him. He was mine!" She began to struggle, trying to loosen the bonds around her wrists.

"He loved her."

"He loves me!" She was losing her breath, the damage to her body and her struggles to escape exhausting her.

"He never loved you. You were just someone to have some fun with, someone to fuck." Vin was being particularly vicious, not his usual way with women. But then he didn't consider the creature before him to be a human, much less a woman. And he needed to get some information from her. He needed Buck, still concealed in the trees, to hear that information.

"NO!" she screamed, or tried to, her voice raspy from pain.

"Yeah, just like any other whore, except he didn't have to pay you."

She tried to kick him, but in her weakened state she was much too slow to even come close to making contact with him.

"But, then again, he did pay, didn't he. He paid with the lives of his family. Did you enjoy watching them die, Ella?" He moved behind her, still talking. "Did you listen to them scream in pain, cry for mercy? You were there, weren't you? You're insane enough to want to have been there."

She struggled again with the ropes, her anger giving her a modicum of strength.

"That bitch deserved to die!" she spit out. "She and her spawn, taking my Chris from me! And yes, I was there. I wanted to relish the event." She breathed heavily, her breasts heaving.

"How did you get Sarah's locket?"

"After the flames died down, Cletus brought it to me. I wanted a souvenir. And that locket should rightfully have been mine. I wanted something to remember that night."

"How much did it cost, Ella? What was the price you paid for Sarah and Adam to be killed?"

"Five thousand dollars," she said with a smile. "And I'd have...paid ten times that amount...if I'd had to." The argument taking its toll on her body, her words coming between gulping breaths.

"Did she beg you, Ella? Did she beg you to let her son live?" Tanner moved back around to once again get face to face with her. A quick glance over her shoulder told him that Buck was still there and listening intently.

Ella smiled, her split lip bleeding again. The insanity was evident in her eyes.

"Oh, you should have...heard her," she said. "She said...she'd do anything if only...we would save her son." Ella laughed. "I was tempted to...let Fowler and his men have some...fun with her before she died...But that brat of hers started to...whine and cry. And of course by then...the flames were getting...bigger. It was...too late."

"So, you murdered a boy and his mother. And still you don't have Chris."

"Because of you!"

Vin ignored her remark. "Did Sarah know why? Did you tell her why you were killing her and Adam?"

"Oh, yes. That was...best part!" Ella laughed. "Oh, you should have...seen her face when...I told her. Of course she didn't...believe me. And she begged...me to save...her son, for Chris. Said if I...really loved Chris, I wouldn't...kill his son."

"And yet you did anyway."

"Of course. That little brat...wasn't Chris Larabee's child. She...was a whore. The boy could have been anyone's... even Wilmington's. He spent...enough time with...the family."

Vin again glanced toward Buck and could see the man leaning against a tree, as if he needed it to hold him up. The tracker silently apologized for putting his friend through this pain, but he felt it was necessary. Buck had to realize what kind of animal Ella Gaines really was. And he prayed that Chris didn't return before he was through. The blond didn't need to hear the details of what Ella had done to his wife and son.

"Just answer me one question, Ella. Did you at least make sure they were dead before the fire got to them?"

The smile that slowly formed on Ella's face gave him the answer, but he let her talked anyway, for Buck's sake.

"Oh, no. Where's the...satisfaction in that? I wanted to hear her...crying out in pain, begging...pleading for her life. I wanted...to hear her take...her last breath," Ella said, the insanity obvious in her voice. "And she did. Oh, it was...glorious. She tried to escape, you know. But...Fowler had men surrounding...the house. Each time she tried to get out...the door or a window, they shot...at her, forcing her back in. I think...they hit her a...couple of times. They might have even...hit the brat."

Movement behind her caused Vin to look up. He saw Buck sliding down the tree to his knees. He couldn't see his face, but knew what Ella's words must be doing to the man. He closed his eyes briefly, fortifying himself to finish what he'd started. He turned back as Ella continued to talk.

"Oh, my God! It was exhilarating! She kept trying to...get out. Finally, she was...shot again and fell back. I could still hear her...begging. And I heard that...brat crying, telling his...mama to get up and crying...for his papa...both of them coughing from the smoke." Ella laughed. "Oh, how...I wish Chris could have...been there to see the...final proof of my love for him! He would...have been overjoyed!"

Her laughter became so loud, she never heard Buck Wilmington begin to retch. But Vin saw him. The tracker had to take a couple of deep breaths and turn away to keep from joining him. Vin had witnessed a number of horrible events in his life, but he couldn't imagine the insanity of that night. And he hadn't known Sarah and Adam. Buck must be going through Hell right about now. And Vin had placed him there. God, the pain this woman had caused was never-ending.

Once he got himself back under control, he faced Ella again. Time to finish this so he could check on Buck. "You destroyed Chris Larabee that night. You took away the most important people in his life."

"He certainly didn't...act that way when I saw him...in Four Corners," she replied smugly, her earlier weakness lost in her euphoria.

"He knows better now. He knows what you did. He knows that you were a part of the worst days of his life. He knows the bitch that you are."

"And yet, he couldn't...bring himself to shoot me...when he had the chance. That only proves that...he loves me."

Tanner shook his head. "You're pathetic, Ella. You're a murderer. You kill women and children. No man could ever love a devil like you."

Behind her, Vin saw Buck get to his feet, wipe his mouth on the sleeve of his coat and turn away. Grabbing up the reins of his horse, Buck melted back into the darkness.

Ella began to speak once more, but Vin had had enough. Ripping a piece from her already tattered dress, he shoved it in her mouth tying the ends behind her head. She tried to yell around the cloth, but Vin just walked away, settling once again on the rock he'd shared with Chris earlier.

He rubbed his face, suddenly bone-weary. His mind was with Buck Wilmington. He wondered if the big man would ever forgive him.

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An hour later, Vin turned over the watch to one of the young braves and began his search for Buck. But he discovered that Wilmington had ridden out, with no indication if he would return. Tanner decided to turn in for the night, hoping for the chance to talk to Buck in the morning.

But Vin didn't get much sleep that night. His dreams were visited by vague images of a woman and child he'd never met, shadows in the smoke and flames of a burning cabin. He woke up sweating like he'd been in the fire himself.

God, how did Chris handle this? He knew the man must have had nightmares after finding his family burned to death and having to bury them. Vin remembered what it was like when he buried his Indian 'family' after an Army attack. He couldn't imagine how much more painful it would be to bury his own flesh and blood, his child.

Sitting up, he ran a hand across his face. He dressed and slipped out the flap of the tipi. He saw the women getting the morning meal ready but only a few of the men were visible. Some were still asleep, he figured, while others were tending to the horses and doing some early morning hunting.

He walked down to the river to splash some cool water on his face. Stripping off his shirt, he cupped some water in his hands and poured it over his head, letting it slide down his chest, washing away the sweat from his nightmare.

A tittering from nearby froze him movements. Slowly he turned to find several of the young Indian women gathering water a few feet away. He couldn't believe he hadn't seen them earlier. He smiled and continued his morning bath, such as it was. He stood then pulled his shirt back on. Turning back toward the village, he stopped as he spotted Buck sitting on a nearby rock.

"Seems like the ladies got the eye for ya, pard," the big man remarked with a small chuckle, which Vin noticed didn't extend to his eyes, which usually twinkled with merriment when he was teasing the Texan.

"I reckon." Vin moved to lean against the boulder Buck rested on. For several minutes neither man spoke. Vin watched the women gathered up their containers and head back to the village.

After they were out of hearing range, still looking at the water, he quietly apologized. "Bucklin, I'm sorry about last night. I know that was hard for ya…"

"I wondered, at first, if you knew I was there," Buck interrupted. "But then, I figured you did. Not much gets by you."

"You were coming to get her, weren't ya?"

Several long seconds passed before Buck's quiet, "Yeah."

Vin nodded. "And now?"

"Now? Now, I don't know what to think. I knew in my head that she was responsible for what happened to Adam and Sarah. But hearing her last night, knowing she was there and that she enjoyed…" Buck's voice cracked as his emotions, so close to the surface all night, made themselves evident. "God, Vin, she tortured them," he said with a sob, burying his face in his hands.

Vin reached up and placed his hand on Wilmington's shoulder, waiting quietly for the other man to regain his composure. Several minutes later, Buck lifted his head and wiped a sleeve across his face. He sat up and turned to Tanner.

"Chris don't need to know all that, he's been through enough," Wilmington said, wearily.

Vin nodded. "So have you, Buck. So have you. I just...shit, I shouldn'ta done that to ya and I'm sorry. I just wanted you to see what kind of animal she is. I never figured it would be that bad."

"Don't apologize for what she is. I think…I think I knew all along. I just…I remember watching her and Chris dance that night, before everything went sour and he found out about what she did. He seemed happy, ready to get on with his life, ya know? I was grateful to her for putting that spark back in him, especially so soon after the anniversary of Sarah and Adam's deaths. He was talking about maybe settling down again, getting back into ranching."

Buck shook his head and gave Vin a sad smile. "I wanted that for him. I wanted to see him happy again. Maybe have some more kids. I was ready to be an uncle again."

"You really loved Adam, didn't ya, Buck?"

"Oh, yeah. He was a great kid. Always giggling and smiling. And Sarah, she was like a sister to me. She never once made me feel unwelcome."

"I wish I coulda met 'em."

Buck turned to look at his friend. "They would have loved you, Vin. Sarah would have spent all day cooking your favorite foods. And Adam would have been bugging you to teach him how to track and asking you a hundred questions about Indians. The kid never stopped asking questions."

"Kinda like JD," Vin mused.

Buck smiled. "Yeah, kinda like JD. Maybe that's why JD and I get on so well. Adam…he was special, ya know? He was smart and curious about the world around him. He was already learning to read. Sarah was teaching him at home. He would follow Chris and me around, always asking questions about what we was doing. Always wantin' to help. He woulda followed you around like a puppy, asking question after question."

Buck's voice changed, getting higher, like that of a five-year-old boy. "Vin, what kinda tree is that? Vin, did ya ever kill a bear? Vin, will ya show me an Indian sometime? Vin…"

"…will ya show me how to use a bow and arrow?"

Both men turned at the new voice. Chris was standing a few feet away, smoking a cheroot, a small smile on his face. "Vin, how do ya tell a bear track from a wolf track?"

Buck chuckled. "Vin, why is the sky blue?"

Vin looked back and forth between the two men, seeing the smiles gracing both faces and knowing there was some kind of joke there.

"Adam was always asking why the sky was blue or why some flowers were red and others were yellow," Chris explained. "We never could give him a good enough explanation and he was never satisfied with us telling him that's just the way God made them."

Vin nodded. "I wished I'd have been able to teach him to use that bow and arrow."

"Me too," Chris said softly. "Me too."

Silence settled over the three men. A minute later, Chris stubbed out his cheroot beneath his boot. "Breakfast is ready." The other two men nodded and the trio turned and headed back to the village.

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Later that afternoon, Chris was putting the finishing touches on a bow. As he and Kanahe talked during the week they'd been in the village, the older man had been teaching the blond how to make the weapon. They'd already completed half a dozen arrows. His next lesson would be learning to use the bow. He hoped that Vin would show him when they went out the next morning to hunt.

He thought again about the conversation he'd joined that morning. It had been a while since he'd been able to talk about Adam that way. All week long, as he'd been putting the arrows together, his thoughts would wander to his son. He knew that Adam would have enjoyed spending a week with the tribe, playing with the children and helping him make his bow and arrow. Buck was right. Adam would have loved Vin. It saddened him to know that the two would never meet.

Periodically, his gentle thoughts would be interrupted by screams from the clearing where Ella was tied up. He'd not been able to go near her again, watching only from a distance, knowing that his anger and hatred of the woman would probable cause him to lose control again. It was enough to know that Vin checked on the situation several times a day. He knew the tracker would tell him if things were getting close to being over.

Curiously, Buck had been quiet most of the day. He stopped his work and looked around, spotting his old friend playing with the children. He smiled, remembering how he used to chase Adam around the yard at the small ranch outside Eagle Bend. God, Adam had loved the big man.

Chris closed his eyes, his mind drifting back to that last day. He remembered Adam pleading with Buck to give him a ride on his horse. Buck, as always, obliged the youngster, while Chris packed up his own horse and said a private goodbye to his wife.

He'd missed them before he'd even gone a mile down the road.

He opened his eyes, again searching for his friend. He knew this was hard on Buck, this whole thing with Ella. And he understood the other man's misgivings about letting the tribe handle her fate. Hell, he'd probably feel the same way…if the victims were anyone but Sarah and Adam.

And he knew it was tearing Buck apart, wanting to get justice for Chris' family, but not wanting to let a woman be tormented. That was another reason why Chris was avoiding Ella. He, too, hated to see a woman tortured that way and knew that if he saw her again, he might just help Buck take her out of here, even after he'd contributed to that torture himself.

His guilt was still strong, knowing he'd slept with the woman who had ordered the deaths of his wife and son. He was tugged in two directions, wanting to see her pay for her crime and yet not wanting to see her marred like she was. He silently begged Sarah to forgive him. Asked God to forgive him.

"Chris?"

He looked up to find Vin standing next to him. The look on the younger man's face was enough to tell Chris that things were coming to a head. He was relieved, yet anxious. He glanced over at Buck, who was still playing with the children, allowing himself to be blindfolded and led around by the hand.

"Now?" Chris asked.

Vin nodded. "Little Dove says she is ready to let her justice be served. She and Tonti are cutting her down. They have a fire pit already set up a little further out, downwind of the village."

Chris bit his lip and took a deep breath. He noticed the tribe members starting to gather in the village center. Apparently the word was being spread among them as well.

"Chris, if you and Buck want to leave…"

Larabee shook his head. "Tell Buck he can leave if he wants, but I'm staying. I…I'm not sure I can watch it, Vin, but….I want to be here. I need to know when…."

"I understand. Chris, for what it's worth, she'll probably pass out from the smoke before the fire actually kills. I know that ain't much...aw, hell." He waved his hand to dismiss his statement. "I'll come and get you after it'd done."

Chris nodded and watched Vin walk over to Wilmington. The two men conversed for a minute. Buck nodded, then watched Vin turn and head back to the clearing. Chris was surprised when the big man let him go, but Chris could see the indecision on Buck's face. Larabee stood and moved to join his friend.

"Buck, you alright?"

Wilmington took a deep breath before turning to look at his friend. He shook his head. "I just…God, Chris, I don't know if I can do this. I want to go over there with guns blazing and drag her out of here. But then, I think about what she did to your family, and I know she's getting what she deserves. I want her to pay for those crimes, Chris, I'm just not sure if this is the way."

He glanced around again, watching the members of the tribe still gathering together. "Does that make me wrong, Chris?" he asked softly. "Does that mean I didn't love them enough?"

Chris frowned. He grabbed Buck's arm and turned him so that they were face to face. "Don't you ever think that! I know how you felt about them, Buck. And even better, I know how they felt about you! They loved you, Buck. And if Sarah was here, she'd been the first one to tell you that what you're feeling isn't wrong. It's just the way you are. Hell, I'm having some trouble with it too. I'm not sure if I'm giving in because of what she did or because of my own guilt."

"You got nothing to feel guilty about, Chris. You couldn't have known what would happen while we were in Mexico. And you certainly couldn't have known that Ella was a part of it. You just wanted to get on with your life. Sarah would understand. Hell, she'd probably kicked your ass for mourning for so long."

"I'll never stop mourning for them, Buck. I'm not sure I'll ever love anyone as much as Sarah." He sighed. "And after Ella, I'm not sure I even want to try."

"Aw, Chris. Don't let that bitch….don't let her keep you from finding happiness. You know Sarah wouldn't want that. And you'd only be playing into Ella's hand. She doesn't want you with anyone but her. Don't let her win."

The conversation was interrupted by yells coming from the direction of the clearing. The two men ran toward the disturbance, only to stop when they saw Ella, bedraggled and bleeding, coming toward them. Her left arm was wrapped around Little Dove's throat. In her right hand she carried a knife, which was up against the Indian woman's chest.

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"Ella!" Chris yelled.

The desperate woman looked his way. "Chris! Help me! They want to burn me to death!" She looked horrible with bruises and blood covering her skin and clothing. He wasn't sure how she was still standing. Her panic appeared to be fueling her ability to move, despite her injuries.

"It's only what you deserve," snarled Vin Tanner, who was coming up from her other side. She turned to face him, pulling Little Dove around in front of her, placing the woman between herself and the weapon in Vin's hands.

"You stay away from me, or I'll kill her!" Ella screeched. "Chris, saddle some horses, we have to get out of here."

"No, Ella."

"Chris? You have to help me. They want to kill me."

"No, Ella. Look what you've done. You killed my family. You killed Little Dove's son. You have to pay for those crimes."

Buck was torn. Standing beside his friend, watching Ella try to escape. He was tempted to get on a horse and ride away with her...straight to the jail in Stacey. He was also tempted to shoot her down where she stood. The decision was taken from him when he heard a cry behind him and saw a child race past him toward the pair in the center of the stand-off.

Yelling for his mother, Little Dove's oldest son slammed into both women, causing Ella to lose her grip on the Indian woman. All three tumbled to the ground. The boy was the first to recover and rose to his knee, his eyes on his mother.

In her bid for freedom, however, Ella was fierce. Still gripping the knife. She lunged at the boy and was able to grab his hair and yank him back toward her. He fell onto his back, with Ella on her knees above him.

She raised the knife. Screaming, her eyes wide and wild, her arm started down, the knife aimed at his heart.

But it never struck its target. She was staggered by the first shot from Tanner's weapon, but didn't go down. Once again she tried to raise the knife, but died on her knees as two more bullets, this time from Chris and Buck, entered her body. A split second later several arrows slammed into her as well.

Still on her knees, she swayed. She looked down and blinked as she saw two arrows protruding from her chest. Four others jutted from other parts of her body. She turned her head toward her former lover.

"Chris…" she began, choking on the blood spewing from her mouth. She tried to speak further, but too much blood was filling her throat, bubbling up from her damaged lungs.

Chris moved closer to her, his gun still in his hand, which lay against his leg. He didn't know how she'd been able to move with all the injuries she'd had before, much less how she was still upright with three bullets and half a dozen arrows piercing her body.

"Help me," she mouthed, her voice so soft he could hear her.

He shook his head and slid his pistol back into its holster. He squatted down so that he could look her in the eye. "I'll see you in hell, Ella." He stood and turned his back on her, walking away toward the river.

"Chris…" she tried to call again, her hand raised up toward him, beseeching him to return to her. She didn't understand why he was rejecting her. Hadn't she proved her love?

Her view of him was blocked when Buck moved to block her view. "It's over, Ella. You have killed your last innocent victim. I hope you rot in hell for what you've done…to him and to this tribe."

"But, I love…" she began, blood spattering her chin again.

Buck just shook his head. She reached toward him and began to fall forward. He moved, but not quite fast enough, allowing her to fall. As her body hit the ground, the arrows in her chest and abdomen were pushed deeper into her body.

She gasped and then lay still. He stared down at her body, waiting for her to move again. He was oblivious to everything around him until Vin came to stand beside him. The tracker kneeled down and turned Ella onto her side. He placed his hand along her neck.

A long moment later he stood. "She dead, Buck," he said quietly. "Why don't you go find Chris. I'll handle this."

Buck nodded, still staring at the body at his feet. He continued to stare at her until Vin forcibly turned him to face the river and gave him a small push. Wilmington went along with the nudge and followed his old friend's footsteps away from the scene in the village.

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End file.
